Former Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday that when he told Democrats to “kick” Republicans earlier this month, he wasn’t advocating violence, but was using “kick” metaphorically to mean “oppose.”

“Well, I mean, what I was saying was really a metaphor for the notion that people who try to undermine our democracy should be opposed, and we, as Democrats, should be tough in that opposition,” Holder said on CNN Tuesday evening. “I wasn't advocating violence, obviously.”

[More: Trump slams Eric Holder's 'dangerous' call for Democrats to 'kick' Republicans]

Earlier in October, Holder changed former first lady Michelle Obama’s motto, “When they go low, we go high,” to, “When they go low, we kick them.”

Holder said he did not regret making those comments.

In addition to claiming he wasn’t advocating for violence, Holder said he does not agree with those who call for politicians to be publicly confronted.

“Now, I am not one, however, who thinks that politicians should be confronted in restaurants or at their homes. I disagree vehemently with what Ted Cruz has said, but I wouldn't approach him in a restaurant. Let him have dinner, you know, with his family and have a civil debate with him in another context,” Holder said, referencing when Cruz was run out of a restaurant by protesters for his support of now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation.

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., said over the summer that Democrats should continue to confront Republicans and members of the Trump administration in public places, like restaurants, and make it known that they are not welcome.