Joe diGenova, an attorney for the Trump campaign, told a Boston radio host on Monday that fired cybersecurity director Christopher Krebs should be shot.
The comments were made on an episode of "The Howie Carr Show," according to CNN.
According to NBC News, diGenova called Krebs a "class A moron" and should be "taken out at dawn and shot."
On Tuesday, according to CNN, diGenova tried to backpedal by portraying his remarks as a joke, stating they were "sarcastic and made in jest," NBC reported.
Krebs was fired last month by President Donald Trump after the Homeland Security agency declared that the general election was the most secure in U.S. history.
During an interview on NBC's "TODAY" show Tuesday, Krebs said he might take legal action after deeming the remarks "dangerous."