Hillary Clinton 'founder of IS'

Donald Trump has tried to shift attention away from the perceived disarray in his campaign and in the Republican Party by dubbing Hillary Clinton the "founder of IS".

The New York mogul made the incendiary remarks at a rally in Daytona Beach, Florida, after days of campaign pandemonium triggered first by his feud with the father of a Muslim-American soldier slain in Iraq and then his refusal to back the re-election of House speaker Paul Ryan.

In Florida, which is likely to emerge as one of just a few swing states that will determine who wins the White House in November, Trump appeared to be following the advice of some in his party and concentrate his fire exclusively on his opponent.

The Republican nominee offered a list of things that had gone awry in places like the Middle East and Libya, asserting that the fault on each occasion lay with Clinton who served as Secretary of State in Obama's first term.  Among the disasters, he says, was the rise of IS.

"It was Hillary Clinton," Trump declared flatly. "She should get an award from Isis as the founder of Isis."  The assertion just came a few days after he called his Democratic foe "the devil" in an interview with Fox News.

He also directly addressed the ruckus created by his assertion to The Washington Post on Tuesday that he was not inclined to support the re-election bid of Ryan or that of Senator John McCain, whose path back to Capitol Hill this November is looking particularly rocky.  It caused a tempest of Republican handwringing and claims the party was irreversibly split.

It also prompted a firestorm of speculation that somehow Trump would be forced to abandon the race for president and the job of finding a replacement would be taken up by the Republican National Committee chairman, Reince Priebus. The latter, according to numerous reports, was livid with Trump for refusing to back the two top Republicans.

"He feels like a fool," a Republican source familiar with the situation said of Priebus.

But Trump rebuffed all the turmoil in his usual manner. "The campaign is doing really well," Trump insisted as he started the rally in Daytona Beach.

"I would say right now it's the best we've been in terms of being united," he went on, though on what grounds he could possibly claim such a thing was unclear. The party, "has never been more united," he attempted again.