Former Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez on Sunday lamented President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE’s rhetoric about immigrants and minorities, saying it is setting a bad example for younger Americans.

Gutierrez, who served in the George W. Bush administration, downplayed the significance of a restaurant owner in Virginia asking White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders to leave over her defense of Trump’s policy positions.

“I’m sorry that Sarah Huckabee Sanders had a bad day. I’m not worried about Sarah Huckabee Sanders,” Gutierrez said on CNN’s “State of the Union."

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“I’m worried about the African-American kid in school who gets harassed by kids who think they have a license to harass because the president says so,” he continued.

“I’m worried about the Hispanic kid, the Hispanic-American citizen, who is harassed in school and gets called a member of MS-13 because the president calls immigrants from Hispanic countries members of MS-13,” he added.

Former Bush Commerce Secretary @carlosgutierrez: "I’m not worried about Sarah Huckabee Sanders. I’m worried about millions of kids that today are seeing a different America." #CNNSOTU https://t.co/TDNrPuDtYz — State of the Union (@CNNSotu) June 24, 2018

Trump has faced criticism during his campaign and his presidency for his heated rhetoric about immigrants and minorities. He has referred to some Mexicans as "rapists" and "criminals," suggested weak immigration laws are allowing the MS-13 gang to flourish in the U.S. and called El Salvador, Haiti and African nations "shithole countries."

The debate over the lack of civil discourse in politics was renewed over the weekend when Stephanie Wilkinson, co-owner of the Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, Va., asked Sanders to leave on Friday night without serving her.

Wilkinson told The Washington Post on Saturday that she asked Sanders to leave because of her support of Trump administration policies banning transgender people from the military and separating families at the border.

“I’m not a huge fan of confrontation,” Wilkinson added. “I have a business, and I want the business to thrive. This feels like the moment in our democracy when people have to make uncomfortable actions and decisions to uphold their morals.”

After reports emerged that Sanders was asked to leave the restaurant, she tweeted through her government account that Wilkinson's actions "say far more about her than about me."