Resurgent Trump gaining on scandal-struck Clinton

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has closed a gap in the polls to come almost level with rival Hillary Clinton, the latest Reuters/Ipsos national tracking poll says.

The poll, which covered the period between August 26 to September 1, shows 40 percent of likely voters favouring Trump as compared to 39 percent of respondents currently backing the Democratic candidate.

This indicates that the property tycoon-turned-politician
has managed to gain eight points in just one week, only two months before America goes to the polling booths. 

At a closer look, Trump's gains came as Republican voters began to swing behind their candidate over the last fortnight, bringing the percentage of support to around 78 percent.

This figure still lags behind the 85 percent of Republicans that backed Mitt Roment in the roughly the same period in 2012, however may explain how the controversial candidate has improved his standing in the last week.

Despite having enjoyed a lead in the polls, aggregates have shown that Clinton's dominance has been waning in recent weeks

Despite having enjoyed a lead in the polls, aggregates have shown that Clinton's dominance has been waning in recent weeks. This closing gap has seen the former first lady's advantage narrow to three to six percentage points, or even less according to some polls.

In part, this may have been due to the renewed scrutiny that Clinton has come under for her handling of sensitive information as Secretary of State and donations received her family's charitable foundation. Additionally, the Democratic candidate has not campaigned as actively as her rival for the White House.

Meanwhile, Trump has reshuffled his campaign team in order to appeal to a broader range of Republican voters, including moderates and ethnic minorities.

As part of this effort to moderate his message after a string of gaffes hurt his popularity in the polls, Trump recently suggested that he would be the better president for African Americans than Clinton. He also met with Mexican President Pena Nieto in order to appeal to migrants, in a move that may have boosted Trump while further hurting the approval ratings of the Mexican leader.