The Note: More Troubles for Trump

— -- NOTABLES

--2 WOMEN CLAIM TRUMP TOUCHED THEM INAPPROPRIATELY: Two women have alleged that Donald Trump once groped them, according to a New York Times report published Wednesday. The Times spoke with Jessica Leeds and Rachel Crooks, both of whom claim that years ago they were touched by the Republican presidential candidate without their consent. Both women -- who approached the Times after Sunday's presidential debate -- said they have never told their respective stories publicly prior to the Times report. ABC’s DAVID CAPLAN has more. http://abcn.ws/2dY4S5J

--WHAT THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN IS SAYING: In a statement released Wednesday night following the report's publication, Trump campaign senior communication advisor Jason Miller, said, "This entire article is fiction, and for the New York Times to launch a completely false, coordinated character assassination against Mr. Trump on a topic like this is dangerous. To reach back decades in an attempt to smear Mr. Trump trivializes sexual assault, and it sets a new low for where the media is willing to go in its efforts to determine this election." http://abcn.ws/2dY4S5J

--HAPPENING TODAY -- TIM KAINE AND ANNE HOLTON ON ‘THE VIEW.’ Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine visits ABC’s “The View,” which airs at 11 a.m. ET. The democratic vice presidential candidate will be joined by his wife, Anne Holton, former Virginia Secretary of Education, in their first joint talk-show appearance since Senator Kaine was named Hillary Clinton’s running mate.

--ANALYSIS -- ABC’s RICK KLEIN: That escalated quickly – and it’s going to be hard to get back to any kind of track. The vicious and vile campaign for the presidency is now in a clogged and murky gutter, with accusers trickling out against one candidate and being sought against the other. With Donald Trump’s map crumbling, and his denial of wrongdoing seeming to push new accusers to go public, this is where we’re going to be for a while. (Awkward alert: The Trump campaign is now seeking to discredit women who say things about Trump, while seeking to boost those who have and would say things about Bill Clinton. And who thought the Trump camp, less than a week after the “Access Hollywood” video emerged, would accuse a newspaper of “trivializ[ing] sexual assault?”) It’s looking like a messy final few weeks. And it’s looking like the campaign will finish where it started, and perhaps where it’s always been, with a wince-inducing journey through personal history and conduct.

ABC’s JON KARL MODERATES NORTH CAROLINA AND FLORIDA U.S. SENATE DEBATES. ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl will moderate U.S. Senate debates in two battleground states critical in the fight for control of the Senate. Tonight, Richard Burr (R) will debate Deborah Ross (D) at UNC-TV, North Carolina Public Media studios in Durham, sponsored by the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters Educational Foundation. The hour-long debate will air at 7:00 p.m. ET on ABC affiliates throughout North Carolina, UNC-TV and other local television and radio stations.

--ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, Karl will serve as the lead moderator in the first debate between Sen. Marco Rubio (R) and Rep. Patrick Murphy (D), taking place at the University of Central Florida’s Fairwinds Alumni Centerin Orlando. ABC News will partner with ABC affiliate WFTV, POLITICO Florida, and COX Media Group radio stations WDBO and WOKV. WFTV anchors Greg Warmoth and Nancy Alvarez and Politico’s Marc Caputo will join Karl in asking questions. The hour-long debate will air at 7:00 p.m. ET on ABC affiliates across Florida and other local television and radio stations. ABC News will live stream the debates live at www.abcnews.com/live

HAPPENING TODAY -- MICHELLE OBAMA TO STUMP FOR CLINTON IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. One of Hillary Clinton's most effective surrogates, First Lady Michelle Obama, is hitting the campaign trail again, ABC’s JORDYN PHELPS and ROBIN GRADISON report. The first lady, who has stumped for Clinton several times over the last month, is scheduled to head to Southern New Hampshire University for a rally today. Michelle Obama's use of the phrase "When they go low, we go high" at the Democratic National Convention this summer has since become a campaign motto of sorts for the Clinton campaign. http://abcn.ws/2dLS3Np

YESTERDAY ON THE TRAIL with ABC’s ADAM KELSEY and VERONICA STRACQUALURSI

TRUMP SEES ‘SINISTER DEAL’ BEHIND REPUBLICAN REVOLT. Republican nominee Donald Trump seemed to suggest Wednesday that House Speaker Paul Ryan and other members of the GOP are involved in a “sinister deal” against him. “There is a whole deal going on and we’re going to figure it out. I always figure things out. But there’s a whole sinister deal going on,” Trump said campaigning Wednesday afternoon in Ocala, Fla. Though Trump doesn’t spell out what the “deal” is, the candidate criticized Ryan for not showing support of his performance in the second presidential debate, write ABC’s CANDACE SMITH, ADAM KELSEY and VERONICA STRACQUALURSI. http://abcn.ws/2d7WlzG

TRUMP SAYS 'I DON'T WANT TO INVADE HER SPACE' ABOUT HILLARY CLINTON, KNOCKS HER INTELLIGENCE. Donald Trump took a swipe at his Democratic opponent and claims that he loomed over her in an intimidating way at the debate, saying "I don't want to invade her space." "They said he invaded her space. I invaded her space," he told the crowd in Florida. "Believe me. The last space that I want to invade is her space. Believe me." While speaking at an airport hangar in Lakeland, Trump also denigrated Clinton's intelligence, notes ABC’s CANDACE SMITH. http://abcn.ws/2dMZ96Q

A TIMELINE OF DONALD TRUMP AND PAUL RYAN'S TUMULTUOUS RELATIONSHIP. The latest round of Twitter scorn that Donald Trump has been spewing towards House Speaker Paul Ryan is a low point in an already tumultuous relationship. Ryan, the Republican leader from Wisconsin, was criticized by some for delaying his endorsement of Trump until after it had become clear he was the nominee, and more recently, has been criticized by some for holding onto his endorsement of Trump in light of the recording of Trump's vulgar comments from 2005. ABC’s MEGHAN KENEALLY and BENJAMIN SIEGEL review some of the highs and lows of one of the most controversial partnerships of the 2016 election season: http://abcn.ws/2dwuBka

WHAT WE LEARNED FROM THE PURPORTED JOHN PODESTA EMAILS FROM WIKILEAKS. The anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks has dumped thousands of emails this week that it claims came directly from the inbox of Hillary Clinton’s campaign Chairman John Podesta. So far, the Clinton campaign has neither confirmed nor denied the authenticity of the emails. Podesta told reporters Tuesday that he is cooperating with an FBI criminal investigation into the hacking, and pointed a finger at Russia as a possible source behind the intrusion, echoing what U.S. intelligence officials said was the likely party behind the recent spate of hacking of political organizations in the U.S. ABC’s MARYALICE PARKS has more: http://abcn.ws/2e1Y4n1

REPUBLICAN SENATOR WHO URGED DONALD TRUMP TO STEP ASIDE SUPPORTS HIM AGAIN. A Republican lawmaker who turned against Donald Trump after the release of a damning 2005 video appears to have reversed her position. Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska had called for Trump to step aside and cede the GOP nomination to his running mate, Gov. Mike Pence, but now she has said she will vote for Trump, notes ABC’s MEGHAN KENEALLY. "I plan to vote for Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence on Nov. 8," she said Tuesday on Lincoln radio station KLIN. "He decided he would not step aside. I respect his decision ... I support the Republican ticket, and it's a Trump-Pence ticket." http://abcn.ws/2dRBqiD

INSIDE TRUMP'S VIEW OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND 'INNER CITIES.' During Sunday night's second presidential debate, Donald Trump made a promise that is familiar to those who have followed him on the campaign trail in recent months: to help African-Americans. He also invoked a familiar phrase that he frequently associates with African-Americans -- the "inner cities.” But if Trump really wants to help, he may be looking in the wrong place -- most African-Americans live in the suburbs or elsewhere, data show, reports ABC’s PAUL BLAKE and BRIONNA JIMERSON. http://abcn.ws/2dcLFuR

THE THINGS TRUMP SAID ARE 'RIGGED' AND 'NOT RIGGED.’ Rigged or not rigged, that is the question. Donald Trump has raised the specter of conspiracy theories on occasions that are too numerous to mention while on the campaign trail, from the long-discredited "birther" theory to recent claims about voter fraud and the U.S. general election. "Rigged" has become an exclamation point of sorts in Trump's lexicon and he uses it regularly in his rallies. ABC’s TOM LIDDY highlights a few examples of Trump’s claims. http://abcn.ws/2egp9qO

ANALYSIS: A SPLINTERED REPUBLICAN PARTY STUMBLES DOWN HOME STRETCH. In a secret call with top officials Monday, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus described the GOP’s relationship with its nominee’s beleaguered presidential campaign as “fully engaged” and “together at all levels.” But behind closed doors with members of the U.S. House, Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., urged anything but that. “You all need to do what’s best for you in your district,” Ryan told his caucus, zeroing in on protecting his members –- all of whom are facing re-election in four weeks, writes ABC’s RYAN STRUYK. http://abcn.ws/2dMHCeR

‘POWERHOUSE POLITICS’ PODCAST -- LIBERTARIAN VP CANDIDATE BILL WELD STILL THINKS DONALD TRUMP CAN WIN. Libertarian vice presidential candidate Bill Weld isn't counting Donald Trump out of the running in the aftermath of last week's revelation that he made lewd comments about women in 2005. “I wouldn’t say I am confident that he is out of it," said Weld. "You can’t discount the possibility that there are a lot of people out there that don’t want to tell the pollsters that they are voting for Donald J. Trump.” When asked by ABC’s RICK KLEIN and BRAD MIELKE on ABC’s Powerhouse Politics Podcast whether vice-presidential candidate Mike Pence would distance himself from Trump, Weld said that Pence is “all that is sticking between the Republican Party and the...potentially free-fall situation." ABC’s ROBIN GRADISON has more. http://abcn.ws/2dMMXiL

WHO’S TWEETING?

@betsy_klein: Trump's lawyers demand a retraction from NYT: "Your article is reckless, defamatory, and constitutes libel per se."

@brianefallon: Trump's lawyer's letter is meaningless. Baquet will line his birdcage with it.

@TheBradMielke: NEW: @JTSantucci reports that Trump's team is moving resources out of Virginia and into other battleground states.

@ajjaffe: But another source tells @alivitali Team Trump is "running essentially a 4-state campaign," w/focus shifting to PA, FL, NC, & OH.

@BillKristol: Worst thing about Dylan winning Nobel: For next week, all baby-boomer politicians are going to awkwardly add Dylan quotes to their speeches.