Former CIA chief of staff Jeremy Bash said on Thursday that President Trump Donald John TrumpBubba Wallace to be driver of Michael Jordan, Denny Hamlin NASCAR team Graham: GOP will confirm Trump's Supreme Court nominee before the election Southwest Airlines, unions call for six-month extension of government aid MORE should not try to raise awareness of sexual assault after Trump said women crossing the U.S.-Mexico border are facing rape.

"Just on this issue about rape or whatever point he was trying to make, maybe he was trying to raise awareness about sexual assault. He is about the last person on earth who is positioned morally to raise awareness about sexual assault," Bash told MSNBC.

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Trump said on Thursday at a tax-reform roundtable in West Virginia that women migrating to the U.S. from south of the border are facing unprecedented levels of rape.

"Remember my opening remarks at Trump Tower, when I opened, everybody said, 'oh, he was so tough.' And I used the word 'rape,' " Trump said. "And yesterday it came out where this journey coming up, women are raped at levels that nobody's ever seen before. They don't want to mention that."

Over the past week, Trump has repeatedly tweeted his frustration over U.S. immigration and border control laws, linking illegal immigration from Latin America with drug trafficking and criminality in the United States.

Numerous women came forward during the 2016 presidential campaign to accuse Trump of sexual misconduct after a 2005 "Access Hollywood" tape was leaked, in which Trump could be heard bragging about groping and kissing women without their consent.

The White House has denied the claims accusing the president of sexual misconduct.