GOP operative nails Trump on Fox News: Nothing does more to undermine his presidency than him

A former GOP operative and guest on Fox News identified President Donald Trump's issue with his presidency Monday — and said it was the president himself.

Josh Holmes, a former chief of staff for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that although it's "constructive" that Trump is aiming to have openness and avoid war with Russia, "here he made a big mistake as he continues to conflate the issue of Russian collusion with Russian meddling in our election."

"On the world stage, you are not afforded the luxury as president of the United States at dividing what are American institutions — being the intelligence community and the FBI — from your administration as a whole in front of foreign adversaries," the operative said. "You just aren't. That's not a luxury the president of the United States has."

"By continuing to give his critics fodder to suggest that somehow he is hiding something on Russia does more to undermine his presidency and the end of [special counsel Robert Mueller's] investigation than anything else he can do," Holmes continued. "I think that was a mistake."

Holmes added that Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and others who have claimed the president is being criticized merely for interacting with Russia “are missing the point.”

"If you're going to go on a foreign stage, you represent the United States of America as a whole and you don't bring your petty political squabbles with you," he concluded.

Watch below, via Fox News: