It will take a "miracle" for Mr Donald Trump to win the presidential election, a senior adviser from the Republican presidential nominee's inner circle was quoted by CNN as saying on Election Day.

"It will take a miracle for us to win," said the adviser, who was not named by CNN, citing Mr Trump's ratings slump after a decade-old video tape showed the billionaire reality TV star-turned-politician making lewd remarks about groping women.

It was assumed inside the campaign that he would lose by a wide margin, the aide said.

Yet Mr Trump's ability to close that gap in the last weeks of the campaign is seen as a pretty stunning achievement, CNN said, citing the adviser.