Sen. Time Kaine (D-Va.) said former President Barack Obama called President Trump a “fascist” in a phone conversation between the senator and the former president during the 2016 presidential election, NBC News reported.
The claim was made in a video clip featured in an upcoming documentary about former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that was obtained by NBC News. Kaine is seen on camera describing the call to Clinton in 2016. His wife, Ann Holton, was also seen during the conversation, according to the clip.
"President Obama called me last night and said: 'Tim, remember, this is no time to be a purist. You've got to keep a fascist out of the White House,'" Kaine said, adding that Obama "knows me and he knows that I could tend to err."
Clinton replied, saying that, “I echo that sentiment.” The former Democratic presidential candidate is seen putting her hands on her chest and saying, "But that's really — the weight of our responsibility is so huge."
The date and location of the conversation are not clear, but the clip was recorded by a camera team hired by the Clinton campaign, according to NBC News.
The clip appears in an episode of “Hillary,” the four-part documentary that will chronicle Clinton’s early life, rise to national fame and political career, according to NBC News. The series will be available on Hulu March 6, and it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival Saturday.
Obama has rarely spoken out against Trump since leaving office. Obama said “homegrown demagogues” were among the political forces threatening the U.S., which some said was directed at the then-candidate Trump.
Obama has also spoken out about some of Trump’s policy moves, including leaving the Paris climate accords.
The upcoming documentary also sparked interest earlier this week after The Hollywood Reporter reported that Clinton attacked Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). In an interview with the publication, reporter Lacey Rose read a quote Clinton gave filmmakers saying, "He was in Congress for years. He had one senator support him. Nobody likes him, nobody wants to work with him, he got nothing done. He was a career politician. It's all just baloney and I feel so bad that people got sucked into it.'"
Clinton said that assessment still holds.
The former secretary also weighs in on a slate of personal and political issues in the documentary, including Trump’s 2016 campaign, accusing him of “attacking women" saying he "relished in denigrating women.”
Of her 2016 defeat, she shared that "I went in and laid down on the bed in the bedroom and I was just, like, bewildered and astonished. I was thinking, 'Wait a minute, what is happening?' I mean, I've been in lots of elections and I didn't see this coming," NBC News reported.
