Former President Barack Obama told Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) during the 2016 election that Donald Trump is a 'fascist' who must be kept out of the White House.

The statement, made while Obama's DOJ was using spies to surveil the Trump campaign in the Russiagate scandal, is claimed by Kaine in an upcoming documentary about Hillary Clinton, according to CBS News.

Kaine, Clinton's running mate on the Democratic ticket, recounts the call during an exchange with Clinton that was caught on camera in 2016. Kaine's wife, Anne Holton, was also present. "President Obama called me last night and said: 'Tim, remember, this is no time to be a purist. You've got to keep a fascist out of the White House,'" Kaine says before adding with a laugh that Obama "knows me and he knows that I could tend to err." Clinton replies, nodding, "I echo that sentiment." She then puts her hands to her chest and says, "But that's really — the weight of our responsibility is so huge." -CBS News

The clip is featured in an episode of the four-part Hulu documentary called "Hillary," which premiered on Saturday at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The docuseries chronicles Clinton's early life, her rise to power, and her political career.

CBS notes that Obama has rarely attacked Trump in public since leaving office, and the 'fascist' comment goes far beyond anything he said in public during the campaign - when he said at the 2016 DNC convention that "homegrown demagogues" were threatening American values.

Obama has also criticized the Trump administration for pulling out of the Paris climate accords, as well as Trump for the way he uses social media - suggesting that world leaders should avoid it.

"The presidency is like drinking out of a fire hose – you can’t absorb that information yourself," Obama said in Septermber. "You can make sure you have a team that is distilling info as effectively as possible so you can get a basic framework for what the problem is."

"The other thing that’s helpful is not watching TV or reading social media," he said, adding. "Those are two things I’d advise, if you’re president, not to do."

Spying on incoming political opponents, meanwhile, is just fine apparently.