Donald Trump spars with Clinton backers as they unleash harshest ads against him yet

The spots from Priorities USA are starting a month early to define Trump quickly in voters' eyes

The advert highlights Mr Trump's comments about women (Priorities USA)

Donald Trump is skirmishing angrily with the largest independent group supporting Hillary Clinton for president which will launch two blistering attacks against him in key swing states on Wednesday.

The unusually harsh spots are being aired nearly a month earlier than originally planned by the Priorities USA super PAC which says it is eager not to make the mistake made by Republican rivals of Mr Trump for their party’s nomination by waiting too late to open fire on him full-bore.

Designed to define him early in the eyes of voters, the two ads will begin airing, at an initial cost of $6 million, in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida and Nevada. One features a selection of women actors dressed in white shirts bearing the face of Mr Trump lip-synching to his own voice making disparaging remarks mostly about women.

One of those utterances is taken from a description he offered of the Fox News anchor, Megyn Kelly, after she aggressively challenged him while moderating a candidates’ debate last year. He recall blood coming out of her eyes and “blood coming out of her ... wherever”.

The spot ends with another actress lip-synching Mr Trump declaring, “And you can tell them to go [expletive deleted] themselves.” Finally, it asks viewers, “Does Donald Trump really speak for you?” as a series of images of women parade by.

That last comment actually was embedded in remarks from Mr Trump on trade with China, a fact he pounced on in one of a series of angry Twitter messages after copies of the spots were broadcast on Monday night by some news channels.

“The pathetic new hit ad against me misrepresents the final line. “You can tell them to go BLANK themselves” — was about China, NOT WOMEN!” he wrote. In another, he blurted: “Crooked Hillary Clinton put out an ad where I am misquoted on women. Can't believe she would misrepresent the facts! My hit was on China.

The advert highlights Mr Trump's comments about women (Priorities USA)

In a Twitter message right back at the Trump campaign, the Priorities USA spokesman, Justin Baraski, replied: “Yeah guys, it's presidential to tell other countries to go F themselves.” In a statement, Mr Baraski added: “Sorry Donald, but the ad isn’t only about your overt sexism, it’s about your divisiveness and character being unsuitable for the office of the presidency.”

The original comments about Ms Kelly, made last August after what was the first Republican debate in Cleveland, Ohio, caused a furore and went a long way to setting up the narrative that Mr Trump does not relate well with women. At the weekend, the New York Times ran a front page piece detailing what it said was a long history of inappropriate behaviour towards women.

Mr Trump has also reacted furiously to the New York Times piece, although an implied threat from one of his lawyers that a lawsuit might be forthcoming appeared to have been withdrawn. In the meantime, though, he faces a tough challenge improving his standing with female voters, of whom 69 per cent expressed their disapproval of him in a recent poll.