This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The White House pushed back on Sunday against any attempt to link Donald Trump to the accused gunman who killed 50 people in two New Zealand mosques, saying the act of a disturbed individual could not be blamed on any one politician.

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“The president is not a white supremacist,” the White House acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, said on Fox News Sunday. “I’m not sure how many times we have to say that.”

Trump on Friday condemned the “horrible massacre” at the mosques and the White House called the shooting a “vicious act of hate”.

Asked by a reporter if he saw white nationalism as a rising threat around the world, Trump said: “I don’t really. I think it’s a small group of people.”

In a manifesto sent to the office of the New Zealand prime minister, other political recipients and media outlets, the accused gunman praised the US president as “a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose” but said he did not support his policies.

The reference revived criticism that Trump has not been strong enough in condemning hate speech and has fomented anti-Muslim sentiment.

“I don’t think it’s fair to cast this person as a supporter of Donald Trump,” Mulvaney said. “Any more than it is to look at his eco-terrorist passages in that manifesto and align him with [Democratic House speaker] Nancy Pelosi or [New York representative Alexandria] Ocasio-Cortez.

“This was a disturbed individual, an evil person.”

In 2017, Trump drew strong criticism in the days after a deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, when he equated white supremacists with counter-protesters and saying “both sides” were to blame.

After the shooting in New Zealand, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, said on Twitter: “Time and time again, this president has embraced and emboldened white supremacists and instead of condemning racist terrorists, he covers for them. This isn’t normal or acceptable.”

• Crisis support services can be reached 24 hours a day. In New Zealand, the crisis support service Lifeline can be reached on 0800 543 354. In Australia, Lifeline is 13 11 14. In the UK and Irish Republic, contact Samaritans on 116 123. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.