John Podesta, Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonWhat Senate Republicans have said about election-year Supreme Court vacancies Bipartisan praise pours in after Ginsburg's death Trump carries on with rally, unaware of Ginsburg's death MORE's former campaign chairman, said Wednesday that President Trump is still deeply bothered by the fact that his Democratic opponent beat him in the popular vote during last year's election.

"I think it really just bugs the hell out of him that she got 3 million more votes than he did, and he keeps coming back to that," Podesta told host Alisyn Camerota on CNN's "New Day."

Podesta said he believes Trump regularly invokes Clinton's name to distract from issues within his own administration, but the Democratic strategist also says the president has yet to accept that Clinton received more votes than he did.

"I think it is partly strategic to deflect attention from his problems, but I think she's really under his skin, because he knows in the popular vote that she beat him and beat him soundly," Podesta continued, calling the ongoing attacks "unprecedented" for a sitting president.

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"Obviously, we bear the burden of having lost the Electoral College so, you know, I lose sleep about that every night," he added.

Podesta teased that Clinton's new book will address Trump's continued need to go after her and her views on his administration so far.

"Well look, I think she'll have something to say about that when her book comes out mid-September. She's reflected on the mistakes that she made, on what she might have done different. But I think she will also talk about where the country is, and you know, how to move forward," Podesta said.

Trump created his controversial Election Integrity Commission earlier this year to investigate his baseless claims of voter fraud in last year's presidential election.

Both Republican and Democratic officials in 44 states, as well as the District of Columbia, have refused to provide all the voter roll information that the commission requested, which includes sensitive data such as Social Security numbers and party registration.