Donald Trump leads Hillary Clinton by 19 points in poll of military and veteran voters

Figures emerge after Republican candidate vows to spend billions building up the US military if he is elected leader

Donald Trump has drawn level with Hillary Clinton in recent weeks, according to standard opinion polls (Getty)

Donald Trump has established a significant lead in an election poll of military voters, with former soldiers stating they believed the Republican candidate was more in touch with the issues of veterans.

Mr Trump is ahead of Hillary Clinton by 19 points, or 55 per cent to 36 per cent of voters in the poll of military personnel commissioned by NBC News and Survey Monkey.

It followed news the Republican candidate had caught up with Mrs Clinton in the standard opinion polls.

In the military voters' poll, Fifty-three percent of veterans said they felt more comfortable in Mr Trump’s ability to be an effective commander of the country’s military than Mrs Clinton.

Only 28 per cent of military voters said the Democratic candidate could be trusted to look after the issues of veterans, compared with 53 per cent for Mr Trump.

However, the majority of veteran and military voters said they trusted Mrs Clinton to be in charge of America’s nuclear weapons arsenal rather than the outspoken businessman.

On Tuesday, Mr Trump’s camp announced it had secured the support of 88 retired generals from the US army, before Mr Clinton hit back on Wednesday by claiming the backing of 95 high-ranking personnel.

“Hillary Clinton is the only candidate that has the experience, temperament, critical thinking and level-headed leadership to keep America safe and our partnerships strong,” read a joint statement from the former generals. “She has our vote in November.”

The Republican party has claimed the majority of military votes for the past three elections, with Mitt Romney, John McCain and former president George W Bush having the support of a large share of veterans.

Mr Trump was heavily criticised by military personnel and former generals in July after appearing to attack the parents of a Muslim American soldier who died in Iraq.

According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll from last week, Mr Trump and Mrs Clinton are “virtually tied” going into the closing weeks of their campaigns, as support for the Republican candidate increased by six per cent over the past fortnight.

However, Mr Trump still lacks the party support held by Mitt Romney in 2012, who had 85 per cent of support from Republicans during his unsuccessful presidential campaign.

During a speech in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Mr Trump vowed to spend billions building up the US military if he was elected president, introducing new planes, ships, submarines and personnel.