Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonJeff Flake: Republicans 'should hold the same position' on SCOTUS vacancy as 2016 Momentum growing among Republicans for Supreme Court vote before Election Day Warning signs flash for Lindsey Graham in South Carolina MORE said Friday that President Trump has "given a lot of encouragement" to racist groups and has yet to unequivocally condemn white supremacy.

"I believe that he has given a lot of encouragement and rhetorical support to the Ku Klux Klan; he accepted the support of David Duke," Clinton told PBS NewsHour's Judy Woodruff in an interview.

"I believe that he has not condemned the neo-Nazis and self-proclaimed white supremacists in Charlottesville and other settings," the former Democratic presidential candidate continued.

"I can't tell you what's in his heart – I don't know. It could be total rank, cynical opportunism," she added. "He's got a hardcore base that believes these things, and he's going to keep feeding it."

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Trump ignited intense public furor in August for his equivocating response to the violence that erupted in Charlottesville, Va., during a protest by white nationalist and neo-Nazi groups.

One counterprotester died and 19 others were injured when a car allegedly driven by an Ohio man with ties to neo-Nazi groups rammed through a crowd of protesters.

Days after the protests, Trump blamed the violence on "both sides" and appeared to equate white nationalists with the counterprotesters opposing them.

Those comments prompted widespread bipartisan backlash, with both Democrats and Republicans calling on Trump to more forcefully condemn racist groups.

"I think that what's important is that as a leader he speak up on behalf of the rights of all Americans and the respect we should show for the diversity of our country, which I think is one of our great strengths," Clinton said Friday.

The House and Senate passed a resolution earlier this week denouncing white supremacy in the wake of the Charlottesville violence. Trump signed that resolution Thursday.