Poll: Trump unscathed after debate controversy

Bombastic presidential candidate Donald Trump suffered no damage to his support among Republican party voters following a controversial performance at a recent debate, a new poll revealed Monday.

The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Trump with the support of 24 percent of Republican voters, maintaining a big lead over his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination.

Trump's closest rival, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, trailed with 12 percent, down from 17 percent just before the debate. No other candidate garnered more than 8 percent in the poll, which was conducted between the end of Thursday's debate and Sunday.

Some observers believed Trump would be damaged by controversial comments he made about Fox News debate moderator Megyn Kelly when she asked about his previous derogatory comments about women.

"You can see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever," Trump told broadcaster CNN on Friday.

The comment caused Trump to be dumped from a keynote speech on Sautrday night at an event hosted by the influential conservative group RedState. Some questioned if the debate controversy would damage his support.

Trump has refused to apologize for the comments, saying they were misinterpreted.

"I cherish women. I want to help women," Trump said in an interview on CNN's "State of the Union" news program.

Trump tweeted Monday that he had spoken with Fox News president Roger Ailes, who assured him that the network would treat him fairly.

Trump's candidacy has proved resilient, surviving and even thriving in the wake of previous controversies involving comments about Mexican immigrants, and US Senator John McCain's war record.

The next Republican debate is set for September 16 in California.

bw/gsw (Reuters, AFP)