Washington Former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice has joined a growing band of Republicans calling on presidential candidate Donald Trump to withdraw from the race.

"Enough! Donald Trump should not be President. He should withdraw," she wrote on Facebook.

"As a Republican, I hope to support someone who has the dignity and stature to run for the highest office in the greatest democracy on earth."

Senior US Republican Senator John McCain has also withdrawn his support for Trump.

McCain, the 2008 Republican nominee, backed Trump but did not attend the Republican National Convention in July.

In a statement, McCain said he wanted to support the candidate the Republican party nominated and show deference to his supporters, but after Trump's behaviour, and comments about women this week, it's now impossible for that to continue.

Meanwhile, Tic Tac, maker of the sweets Trump said he would use to freshen his breath before trying to kiss a woman in a widely condemned audio recording, has joined criticism of the US Republican presidential candidate.

In a tweet, the company said it respects all women and finds Trump's recent statements and behaviour completely inappropriate and unacceptable.

Tic Tac respects all women. We find the recent statements and behavior completely inappropriate and unacceptable.

— Tic Tac USA (@TicTacUSA) October 8, 2016

US media on Friday published a 2005 recording of Trump in which he boasted about groping women, unleashing a torrent of condemnation from his party and calls for him to withdraw from the presidential race.

Republicans react to Trump's remarks on women:

• "As a husband and father, I was offended by the words and actions described by Donald Trump ... I do not condone his remarks and cannot defend them. I am grateful that he has expressed remorse and apologised to the American people. We pray for his family and look forward to the opportunity he has to show what is in his heart when he goes before the nation tomorrow night." - Vice-presidential nominee Mike Pence
• "Hitting on married women? Condoning assault? Such vile degradations demean our wives and daughters and corrupt America's face to the world." - 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney
• "Every wife, mother, daughter - every person - deserves to be treated with dignity and respect." - Ted Cruz
• "As the grandfather of two precious girls, I find that no apology can excuse away Donald Trump's reprehensible comments degrading women." - Jeb Bush
• "Donald's comments were vulgar, egregious & impossible to justify. No one should ever talk about any woman in those terms, even in private." - Marco Rubio
• "As proud as I am to label myself a Republican, there is one label that I hold above all else - American. So I want to take a moment today to remind my fellow Republicans that it is not only acceptable to choose your country over your party - it is your duty." - Arnold Schwarzenegger
• "The actions of the last day are disgusting, but that's not why I reached this decision, it has been an accumulation of his words and actions that many have been warning about. I will not vote for a nominee who has behaved in a manner that reflects so poorly on our country. Our country deserves better." - John Kasich.

 READ MORE: Dogged Donald refuses to quite after obscene comments revealed