Donald Trump joined The Factor for his first national interview since the release of the lewd audio tape and Sunday's debate. Trump elaborated on his Tuesday tweet in which he declared that 'the shackles are off.' "The shackles are some of the establishment people within the Republican Party," he explained, "who are weak and ineffective. They are led to a certain extent by Paul Ryan and they are not giving the support that we really need. I'm tired of his non-support, I don't want his support, I want to win for the people because Hillary Clinton is a disaster." Trump also scrutinized the state of the race and his need to win women voters who may have been offended by the audio tape. "I've had a lot of women come up to me and say they have heard a lot worse than that. It will be sad if that is what causes us to lose an election, but I think we're going to win the election. Women want secure borders, safety, law and order, and justice for all. They want the same things everyone else wants." Trump also lobbed a verbal grenade at Senator John McCain, who has withdrawn his endorsement. "John McCain was desperate to get my endorsement in the primary, which he easily won, and now suddenly he does this. He has the dirtiest mouth in the Senate!" The Factor reminded Trump, "If you win the presidency you're going to need Paul Ryan and John McCain."

Returning for another segment, Donald Trump spoke about last Sunday's contentious debate. "The most important thing that I showed," he said, "is that Hillary Clinton has done practically nothing but talk for thirty years. She talks about health care, child care, and everything, but she never does anything." Trump also disputed claims that he was physically intimidating on stage. "I never walked near her. I was at my lectern and she stood right in front of me, and then the next day I read that I was in her space. She came into my territory!" Finally, Trump let loose on the mainstream media. "The press is an extension of Hillary Clinton, part of the rigged system. If she didn't have the press on her side, she'd be at 10%. This is the all-time pile-on. I knew it would be bad, but I didn't know it would be this bad. The press is hardly even talking about the WikiLeaks stuff, which shows her as a real liar." The Factor again extended an invitation to Hillary Clinton, who is welcome in the No Spin Zone at any time.

Political reporters Heidi Przybala and Lisa Boothe evaluated Donald Trump's comments. "I'm deeply concerned," Boothe said, "because he shouldn't be running against the Republican Party. He needs the party, he has no ground game and structure without them. He didn't lay out the indictment against Hillary Clinton or even the new WikiLeaks emails. Americans want change and he does worse when he goes off on tangents." Przybala agreed that Trump habitually picks fights with the wrong people. "Running against the Republican Party was a good strategy during the primary, but I don't hear any sense that he feels the need for a course correction. He is just as content to go after John McCain and Paul Ryan as he is to go after Hillary Clinton."

"Pastor James Macdonald, a member of Donald Trump's Evangelical Executive Advisory Board, says he has had enough of Mr. Trump and is withdrawing support. That comes off the Access Hollywood tape revelation. It is certainly true that Mr. Trump's vulgar comments have disturbed many Americans, not just religious ones. But the debate is intense in theological circles because the Democrats are the party of secularism. They want to impose taxpayer-funded abortion, no limits on the abortion procedure, and generally take a dim view of any public displays concerning religion. If Hillary Clinton wins the presidency, you can bet that she will appoint a secular-liberal judge to the Supreme Court. So religious Americans have a stark choice - rejecting a man with a dubious past on some social issues, including the treatment of women. Or supporting that man, Donald Trump, because he would uphold traditional religious tenets in the political arena. Again, it's a difficult issue for Americans who hold sincere religious beliefs. So what to do? Talking Points cannot tell you, it all has to do with conscience, what you believe is the greater good. As in every election, there is no perfect candidate. No one can tell you who to vote for, that would be insulting. But I can tell you this: If Donald Trump loses the support of religious Americans, he will surely lose the election."

The Factor welcomed evangelical leader and Trump advisor Pastor Robert Jeffress. "I think Pastor MacDonald is wrong," Jeffress declared, "especially to label Donald Trump or anyone else as 'worthless.' I can hardly imagine Jesus saying that. But the real issue is that this is a binary choice between one candidate who is pro-life, pro-religious liberty, pro-conservative justices, and another candidate who holds the exact opposite views. For a conservative Christian to stay at home and allow Hillary Clinton to become president is unthinkable and inexcusable! I've been around Donald Trump and he is nothing but a gentleman and a loving person."

Unlike some previous Republican candidates, Donald Trump has been talking about the inner cities and making his case to black voters. Radio talk show host Jamila Bey reacted to Trump's entreaties. "Donald Trump is on to something," she admitted, "but he takes it to a place that I completely disagree with. I live in the inner city and Donald Trump makes it sound like I live in a wasteland. Absolutely, black and poor and Latino people should be doing better they are doing in this wonderful and prosperous nation. Home ownership is down because banks were deregulated and predatory lenders went into black communities. Black people need to vote for the candidate who best serves their interests, not the one who wants to stop-and-frisk people."

After The Factor invited viewers to send in questions and comments about the campaign, the email flooded in. Texan Rhonda Dean complained that the media is in the tank for Hillary Clinton. The Factor's reply: "If you look at surveys, journalists freely admit that they support the Democratic Party and liberal tenets. So all Americans who are paying attention should know the score." Jeff Pollick of Arizona complained that Fox News has focused more on the lewd Trump audio than the leaked Hillary Clinton emails. The Factor's answer: "Any audio or video tape of a famous person doing anything untoward is going to dominate the coverage. The shock of seeing or hearing that behavior always overrides reading about it." Virginian Scott Gonnella is peeved because Fox News runs campaign ads for Hillary Clinton, even though the candidate avoids Fox News like the Zika virus. The Factor: "The Clinton ads are paid by her supporters, there is no linkage between advertising and editorial. Hillary Clinton's campaign has told my staff that she will appear with us, but she doesn't do many one-on-one interviews."

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, as liberal a jurist as you'll find, surprised some folks when she said NFL players who refuse to honor the flag are 'dumb and disrespectful.' It's another reminder that we should all keep an open mind about people we think we know.