Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said Monday that President Trump’s race-baiting attacks against House lawmakers are part of his strategy to divide the nation, energize his base and distract the national conversation away from issues that matter most.

Mr. McAuliffe said Mr. Trump’s actions are “disgraceful” and said the “man is just plain nuts.”

“But listen, what he is trying to do is to get Democrats off about talking about the issues that matter to American families,” Mr. McAuliffe said on CNN. “Trump knows he can’t win against if the debate is about taking this nation forward — dealing with infrastructure, education, prescription drug prices.”

Mr. Trump on Sunday appeared to take aim at four liberal women in the House on Twitter, tweeting that progressive Democratic Congresswomen who “came from countries whose governments are complete and total catastrophe” should “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.”

“This is a standard playbook for Donald Trump,” Mr. McAuliffe said. “It doesn’t surprise me.”

“The man is a disgrace to the office of the president of the United States, but let us not take the bait here,” he said. “Let us continue as Democrats to build the broadest tent possible [before the 2020 presidential election.] We are going to beat this guy, but let us not get into a trap with him and that is exactly what he is trying to get us to do.”

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