Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) said Thursday that he will decide whether to make a bid for the presidency by the end of March.

“I will make a decision by March 31," he said during a conference at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics.

He predicted that eight to 12 candidates will ultimately throw their hat in the ring and called on those candidates to be "practicable" with their ideas.

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“We’ve got to have actionable, practicable ideas," he said.

McAuliffe also slammed President Trump Donald John TrumpObama calls on Senate not to fill Ginsburg's vacancy until after election Planned Parenthood: 'The fate of our rights' depends on Ginsburg replacement Progressive group to spend M in ad campaign on Supreme Court vacancy MORE, saying he doesn't believe Trump "has a moral core."

"I don’t think he does anything to try and bring people together or to try to uplift our country. Everything is about Trump, is about him," he said.

McAuliffe, a close ally of the Clintons and the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said last month that he was "obviously thinking" about running for president and that Democrats need a "realistic" candidate.

"I’m obviously looking at it. I’ve got time. I’ve got a lot of great relationships. I have 40 years of working for this party. I have plenty of friends in many states, so I don’t have to rush into this," he said during an interview on CNN's "State of the Union."

"But what folks want … is someone who is compulsively optimistic and realistic. And the Democrats have to lay out an agenda of success, of what we plan to do," he added.