Donald Trump: 'I pledge to be a better man tomorrow' after bragging about sexual assault

'I said it, I'm sorry,' said the presidential nominee in a taped statement

The taped statement came soon after a swathe of Republicans condemned his remarks

Donald Trump has apologised and pledged to be "a better man tomorrow" hours after a leaked video showed the presidential nominee bragging about how he was allowed to grab women's genitals because he was a "star".

At midnight on Friday, Mr Trump released a video on Facebook to lament his words, as well as continue to attack Bill and Hillary Clinton.

"I've said and done things I regret, and the words released today in a decade-old video are one of them.

"Anyone who knows me knows these words don't reflect who I am. I said it, I was wrong, and I apologise."

A leaked video, first obtained by the Washington Post, showed 59-year-old Mr Trump claiming he could do "whatever [he] wants" with women, including making sexual advances without consent, and grabbing women between the legs.

The taped statement was recorded at Trump Tower in Manhattan - while a group of journalists and camera crews huddled outside on the pavement - suggesting the Trump campaign was keen to control the message coming from the party nominee after the video leak.

He said his traveling around the US on the campaign and meeting Americans had "changed" and "humbled" him.

"I pledge to be a better man tomorrow and will never, ever let you down," he said.

"Let's be honest - we're living in the real world. This is nothing more than a distraction from the important issues we're facing today".

His comments come hours after he released a statement on his website, saying he apologised "if" anyone was offended.

Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus also issued a statement to call out his own party’s nominee.

“No woman should ever be described in these terms or talked about in this manner. Ever,” he said.

At the time of writing, several people have redrawn their endorsements of the nominee, including former presidential candidate Jon Huntsman, Utah governor Gary Herbert and Utah representative Jason Chaffetz.

House speaker Paul Ryan reportedly disinvited Mr Trump from their first joint campaign event on Saturday, calling the remarks "sickening".

He did not say whether he would also drop his endorsement of the nominee.

Mr Trump's former rivals, including John Kasich, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz denounced the comments.

Mike Pence, his running mate, will attend the event with Mr Ryan in Wisconsin on Saturday on his behalf, but he was reportedly "furious" when he heard the news.