Richard Painter, former White House ethics lawyer to President George W. Bush, says President Trump should distance himself from "idiots on the far right."

Painter appeared on MSNBC's "AM Joy" on Saturday, during which he offered three pieces of advice to "save" Trump's presidency.

“First clean out all of the alt-rights," Painter started. "[Trump] needs to be the Arnold Schwarzenegger of the Republican Party, be the Terminator of the alt-right. He needs to have a personal conversion and renounce and repent for racism for the hatred he has espoused thus far."

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Painter also encouraged Trump to denounce the "religious right" and distance himself from far-right supporters, such as those who protested in Charlottesville, Va., last week.

“Right now, [Trump is] in serious trouble,” Painter warned. “He should stop worrying about the idiots on the far right and what they’re going to do to him in 2020. Make this a successful term and make sure that the extremists are thrown out of the Republican Party. That includes all those people in the White House.”

“We need those people out of the Republican Party so we can govern and pass legislation to help Americans get healthcare, protect the planet, and do what Republicans and Democrats traditionally wanted to do: serve the American people," Painter concluded.

Violence at a white nationalist rally in the small college town of Charlottesville, Va., shook the nation and left Americans questioning how to address the racism and white supremacist groups that spurred last weekend's deadly events.

The topic has taken a front seat in Washington discourse, but the events have also stirred up trouble for Trump, whose slow response to the violent rally has driven a week of backlash.

On Tuesday, Trump faced a barrage of questions from reporters about why he did not immediately condemn by name racist protesters and the KKK after a counterprotester was killed and more than a dozen were injured after the Charlottesville rally.