Karl Rove, former deputy chief of staff and senior adviser for President George W. Bush, took aim Monday at those who leak information from inside the White House.

"I've never seen a White House leak as much against itself as this one, and these people are putting their own personal agendas above those of the country and the president that they serve," Rove said on Fox Business' "Mornings With Maria."

"Frankly, it's ridiculous, it's despicable, it's reprehensible, and it doesn't help anyone," Rove said.

President Donald Trump has created the environment that results in the leaks, Rove said.

"Who's the biggest leaker in the White House? It's the president of the United States, who calls up media figures all of the time and tells them stuff that he shouldn't be telling them," Rove said.

"He gives them license to do this stuff," Rove said.

To put a stop to the leaks, the president should create an environment of trust, Rove said.

"This starts from the top. If you create an environment in which people don't leak against each other, then people will not leak against each other—but there's no magic order," Rove said.

Rove credited the Bush administration in which he worked for its atmosphere.

"A president like the one that I worked for worked very hard at creating an environment in which people felt an obligation to the country, and to him, and their colleagues not to do this kind of stuff, and he worked very hard at it, which is why people didn't leak," Rove said.