At Capitol Hill meeting, Trump digs at GOP member who lost his primary: He's a 'nasty guy'

Trump first asked whether Sanford was present, according to one member in the room. When he heard Sanford wasn't, Trump called him a "nasty guy," according to sources.

Arizona's Republican Rep. Paul Gosar told CNN there were "moans" and "groans" when the President called out Sanford.

Rep. Mark Walker, a North Carolina Republican who's the chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, said he didn't remember exactly what Trump said about Sanford but that "it didn't go over great in the room."

"There were a few moans. Mark's one of our colleagues, and agree with him or not," Walker said, "he's an honest man."

"That's kind of kicking a man when he's down," a House member in the room told CNN. "That's not who we are."

Sanford, a South Carolina Republican who's a critic of Trump, lost his GOP primary to his conservative challenger, state Rep. Katie Arrington.

On Election Day, Trump endorsed Arrington hours before the polls closed last Tuesday in a tweet attacking Sanford for being "very unhelpful to me in my campaign to MAGA."

Sanford has repeatedly criticized the President and didn't back off that criticism in debates with Arrington.

Sanford addressed Trump's previous criticism of him after he lost last week, saying it's "fairly unusual" for a President to weigh in as Trump did and saying he's "neither for nor against Trump," but instead bases his decisions and comments on his political values.

"It may cost me an election in this case, but I stand by every one of those decisions to disagree with the President," Sanford said at the time.