Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) on Thursday said President Trump is welcome to speak in Charlottesville, Va., but should abandon his divisive rhetoric for a message of unity and healing.

"I do not want the president to come here and continue on with the speeches he’s given the last couple of days. Those speeches are dividing us," McAuliffe told CBS's "This Morning."

“If the president wants to come to Charlottesville, and address our citizens, talk about how we can heal as a nation and how we need to move forward, then that is what the president of the United States should do."

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Trump's remarks about white supremacist groups during an impromptu press conference Tuesday ignited an explosion of backlash and outrage, leading many critics to claim the president is legitimizing hate groups.

The president told reporters that "both sides" shared the blame for the demonstrations that turned deadly in Charlottesville this weekend, after an Ohio man with suspected ties to white nationalist groups allegedly drove his car into a crowd of counterprotesters, killing one woman and injuring 19 others.

The Virginia governor said the self-described pro-white groups have become emboldened and unabashed in publicly projecting their racist views for all to see, even losing the KKK hood that once masked the faces of those who preached hate.

"They used to wear hoods, now they don’t even wear their hoods and spew hatred, and bigotry, and bias," McAuliffe said.

McAuliffe said that those who harbor such hateful views are not welcome in the United States, let alone his state of Virginia.

"There is no place for that in this country. And anyone who incites that or encourages and allows this type of behavior, let me be clear, you have no place here in Virginia. We do not want you. And I’ll be honest with you, we don’t want you here in America. This hate speech has got to end."