Trump in a corner before the second debate

Republican candidate Donald Trump is facing enormous pressure to make changes in order to gain an advantage in the second debate.

Republican candidate Donald Trump. Photo: AP

Despite the Republican Party's vice presidential candidate Mike Pence's big advantage in the debate on the night of October 4, the party's presidential candidate Donald Trump is still under great pressure ahead of the debate on the evening of October 9, according to Les Echos.

Commentator Lucie Robequain said the past two weeks have been arguably the worst period of Mr. Trump's election campaign.

The real estate billionaire was considered weak against his opponent in the first debate and the recent revelations by the New York Times that he may not have paid income tax for 18 years shocked American public opinion, negatively affecting the reputation of the Republican candidate.

Polls show Mr Trump's chances of winning have dropped from 30% before the first debate to 19%, while Mrs Clinton is leading in most of the "swing states" that will decide the election.

According to commentator Jim Malone, despite being rated lower than his opponent in the debate, Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine always proactively directed the attention of American public opinion to billionaire Trump's controversial issues, thereby continuing to put pressure on the Republican candidate.

"I told Governor Pence six times tonight that I couldn't imagine him defending his presidential candidate after all that's happened," Kaine said during the debate.

Meanwhile, Mr. Pence was forced to choose to ignore the attacks aimed at his "companion" and tried to turn the attention to the former US Secretary of State.

Analyst Austin Hart said the vice presidential debate is unlikely to change voters' minds.

"I think the Democrats prefer stronger words to attack Donald Trump, while the Republicans prefer Governor Pence's calm and steady attitude," Hart said.

In addition, the second debate between the two candidates will be held in the form of a meeting and conversation with local voters. Both Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton will answer questions selected by the moderator and questions from voters invited to attend.

According to Robequain, this "town hall" style of organization could cause many disadvantages for the real estate tycoon, because this is a familiar debate style of Mrs. Clinton.

"Mrs. Clinton loves these types of debates because she always knows how to listen and answer specific questions," said the Democratic candidate's campaign manager, John Podesta.

On the contrary, Mr. Trump hates and always wants to avoid this type of debate, because the atmosphere in "town halls" is completely different from the atmosphere of rallies and speeches in front of thousands of people, which is the strength of the real estate tycoon.

Talking directly to voters will give Mr. Trump less opportunity to attack Mrs. Clinton.

Finally, the real estate billionaire is facing a new shock that is expected to seriously affect his opponent's attack tactics in the upcoming confrontation. That is, the Washington Post on October 7 revealed a video, about three minutes long, in which Mr. Trump brags about his vulgar actions with women.

There are signs that Mr. Trump, under pressure to win, will be forced to adopt more aggressive tactics, and will likely strongly attack the former US Secretary of State's health issues, especially the love scandals of her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

However, according to American political analyst Nicole Bacharan, if Mr. Trump really intends to revive Mr. Bil's affairs, he will now be forced to recalculate. Because Mrs. Clinton will certainly use the leaked video as an extremely powerful counterattack, putting the Republican candidate in a "mouth-opening" situation.

"The allegations against former US President Bill Clinton are just vague accusations without concrete evidence, while the Republican candidate cannot deny the latest video, exposing his lewd behavior. And Mrs. Clinton has probably prepared very carefully to wait for her opponent," Bacharan commented.

"Republican candidate Donald Trump is under great pressure and facing many disadvantages before the next debate. If he cannot create a breakthrough, it is likely that he will continue to be widened by Mrs. Clinton in the sprint to the White House," said Professor Jean-Eric Branaa, of the Sorbone University in France.

According to VNE