Story highlights Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said Hillary Clinton would flip-flop on a major trade deal

Clinton's campaign denied his claim as Donald Trump seized upon it

Philadelphia (CNN) Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe caused Hillary Clinton a political headache Tuesday night when he said he expects her to reverse her position on a major free trade deal.

Clinton has said on the campaign trail that she opposes the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a 12-nation trade deal negotiated by President Barack Obama's administration, citing its lack of provisions to crack down on currency manipulation.

But McAuliffe said in an interview with Politico that he believes she'd flip-flop and support the deal.

"I worry that if we don't do TPP, at some point China's going to break the rules -- but Hillary understands this," he said. "Once the election's over, and we sit down on trade, people understand a couple things we want to fix on it, but going forward, we got to build a global economy."

Pressed on whether Clinton would reverse her position, McAuliffe told Politico: "Yes. Listen, she was in support of it. There were specific things in it she wanted fixed."

Read More