Like a band of insurgents, they will follow their general into wilderness

stage, he drew on all of these wild theories and emotions. He attacked the press for biased coverage — “so crooked” — and he warned that America is about to face massive voter fraud at the polls.

For the first time in living memory, a presidential candidate is telling the American people they should have no faith in the democratic process. This is dangerous stuff. It will allow him to say the election is rigged. Even in defeat he can avoid the “loser” label. But it will leave tens of millions of Americans feeling angry and cheated.

All of this comes ahead of tonight’s final presidential debate. Appropriately enough, it’s happening in Las Vegas. It will indeed be the last roll of the dice for Trump, his final opportunity to gain ground with undecided voters, many of whom are horrified at this car-crash of a campaign.

The polls continue to show Clinton with a clear lead. But the really startling fact is that it’s not looking like a blowout. Even after all of these accusations against Trump, most white Americans still favour him over Clinton. Only the overwhelming support of Hispanics and African-Americans gives her the edge.

As Wisconsin voters left the rally, they looked like a band of poorly equipped insurgents. They know that Trump will likely lose, but they are promising to follow their general into the wilderness and keep the movement alive.

Robert Moore is the Washington correspondent for ITV News.