Donald Trump labels Hillary Clinton 'the devil', suggests poll will be rigged

Donald Trump has claimed that the US presidential election could be "rigged" as the Republican presidential nominee tried to divert attention away from a disastrous week for his campaign by labelling his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton as "the devil".

"I'm afraid the election is going to be rigged, I have to be honest," Trump said yesterday during a town hall in Columbus, Ohio.

The 70-year-old White House hopeful who emerged as the winner of a tough Republican presidential primary of 17 candidates claimed his Democrat rival Hillary Clinton had to fight only against Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont.

"I had 17 people. I wasn't running against two people. I had 17 people. I got a similar number to Hillary Clinton, and she had Bernie and she had a hard time putting Bernie away, and Bernie, poor Bernie. He looked so upset. You know what, he made a mistake. He shouldn't have made a deal. He lost, he lost," Trump said.

"First of all, it was rigged, and I'm afraid the election is going to be rigged, I have to be honest. Because I think my side was rigged, if I didn't win by massive landslides, I mean, think of what we won in New York and Indiana, California, 78%. That's with other people in the race," he said.

At another rally, Trump branded the 68-year-old former secretary of state as a "devil".

Trump used this extreme characterisation of Clinton when speaking about the decision of Senator Sanders to support her in the election.

"He (Sanders) made a deal with the devil. She's the devil," Trump alleged.

In his rallies, Trump for the past several weeks has been using the word "crooked" against her.

"His people are angry at him, and they should be. If he would have not just done anything, gone home, go to sleep, relax, he would have been a hero. But he made a deal with the devil. She's the devil," Trump said at a rally in Pennsylvania.

The controversial Republican nominee has in the past few days faced a barrage of criticism following his comments about the Gold Star parents of a Pakistani-American Muslim soldier killed in Iraq.

In response to an emotional attack on him by the parents of 27-year-old army captain Humayun Khan, who died in a suicide bombing, Trump had claimed to have made sacrifices equal to their son.

A range of figures and organisations from across the political spectrum from President Barack Obama to Senator John McCain have criticised Trump for his comments.