<sod >The election campaign plunged has plunged to new a level of accusation and toxicity when Donald Trump claimed Russian leader Vladimir Putin had no respect for Barack Obama and appeared to imply he used a racial epithet to describe him.< eod>< sod > The US election campaign has plunged to new a level of accusation and toxicity after Donald Trump claimed Russian leader Vladimir Putin had no respect for Barack Obama and appeared to imply he used a racial epithet to describe the American president.< eod>