NEW YORK — Ever defiant, Donald Trump and his Republican allies largely embraced a report that said the New York businessman may not have paid federal income taxes for nearly two decades after he and his companies lost nearly $916 million in a single year.

The unexpected weekend revelation punctuated a week of missteps and aggressive personal attacks from the Republican presidential contender, with early voting already underway in some states and Election Day quickly approaching.

If there was a bright spot to the explosive story about his taxes in The New York Times, Trump supporters said, it was that it may shift the national conversation away from Trump’s weeklong feud with a former beauty queen he called “Miss Piggy” as he shamed her for gaining weight, and his unfounded suggestion Hillary Clinton may have cheated on her husband.

“He’s not been on message,” said Barry Bennett, a former Trump adviser. “A week was wasted where he could have been talking about the heroin epidemic and jobs and ISIS. All the money in the world can’t get that time back.”

On Monday, the challenges mounted. Several former cast and crew members from Trump’s reality show ‘The Apprentice’ described for the first time Trump’s treatment of women on the set. The show insiders told The Associated Press that Trump rated female contestants by the size of their breasts and talked about which ones he’d like to have sex with.

The campaign issued a broad denial, calling the claims “totally false.”

Trump’s troubles have snowballed after his rough performance in last week’s debate. His campaign is hoping to try to regain its footing at the next face-off with Clinton on Sunday.