So, there it is. Donald Trump has gone nuclear.

To be fair, it is hard to see what other option he had.

For the past 48-hours he has not been just on the back foot – he has been teetering on the brink of oblivion without even a single ballot cast.
It is unprecedented.

Republicans of every colour and persuasion are deserting him in droves.

And not just are they withdrawing support, but they are savagely criticising his candidacy at the same time.

Senior Republican after senior Republican – desperately concerned about their own electoral chances -has declared him unfit to be President.

The question for Trump is not which high-profile endorsement he will receive next, but rather which ones he can now cling on to.

In that context, the tycoon turned (sort of) politician was perhaps fortunate to be facing a Democrat.

Hillary Clinton was, in many respects, softer on The Donald than many in his own party have been.

The former First Lady clearly felt she did not need to go for the jugular, although she was precise and passionate in her denouncements.

Trump has blustered and burbled his way out of many crises, but there is a sense this one is different.

He might be Teflon, but mud still sticks.

Not that there was much about either candidates’ policies or proposals – in fact,even less than in the first bout.

As a town hall event – allegedly designed to encourage interaction with ‘ordinary’ voters – it failed.

But the mood of the room was clear – there was only one scandal.

Sadly for Ms Clinton, sex scandals are not her strongest card to play, given her husband’s past indiscretions.

Trump – not a man known for his tact – seized on this in a bid to deflect from his own quagmire.

The attacks were unseemly, of course, but – in this bizarre contest – perhaps not entirely ineffective.

Bill Clinton stared on vacantly during the tirade, and polling has suggested voters are uninterested in revisiting the former President’s indiscretions and his wife’s alleged role in trying to cover them up.

In the short term though Trump needed to get on the offensive again.

His message was clear – if he’s going to lose, he’s going to make sure Clinton loses too.

Atone point in the often tetchy exchanges he went so far as to suggest that, if he wins, he would jail his opponent.

Such an err, unconventional, strategy will be enough to keep him on the ballot and fight off internal party criticism.

It might even be enough to gain him a respectable defeat in a month’s time.

But it will not be enough for him to win.

DonaldTrump 5/10

It was always going to be a hard night for The Donald.

Dressed in a dark suit and – rather long – red tie, he meandered around the stage nervously.

The sniffles were still there – he occasionally leered.

And he was flustered, lambasting both the moderators and Secretary Clinton.

His attacks on husband Bill – and by extension Hilary – were unseemly.

But he did not implode. He is still standing.

Of course, many will be disappointed with his apology over his recently released comments about women.

His contrition was laced with tangential, rambling attacks on ISIS.

Yet he still got some quips in and a snap focus group actually suggested he was winning, at least at points.

MrTrump’s off-the-cuff style still continues to cause him difficulty, though.

Atone point he branded America “stupid”. He publicly disagreed with his running mate.

All things concerned, however, Trump did not put in a disastrous performance.

But he will need to improve quickly.

Hilary Clinton 7/10

SecretaryClinton was dignified and decent, in often testing circumstances.

Her vision of an inclusive society was passionately expressed.

As in the first debate, she had a detailed grasp of her brief and, where possible,spelled out specific policy proposals.

She continued too, with her considered – some might say ponderous – form of speech.

Yet she failed to deliver a body blow to a Donald Trump who was, in many respects,on the back foot.

Many of her responses on controversial issues – such as her use of a private email server – seemed too pre-prepared to really be considered genuine.

But she did enjoy the upper-hand for most of the evening, often appearingPresidential.

It is now her contest to lose.