President Donald Trump's staff have rejected any attempt to link the US leader to a right-wing terrorist who is accused of killing 50 people in two New Zealand mosques, as he defended a Fox News personality who made anti-Muslim remarks.

Key points: Mr Trump tweeted that people should stop working "soooo hard on being politically correct"

Mr Trump tweeted that people should stop working "soooo hard on being politically correct" His chief of staff said it would be unfair to link the Christchurch shooter and Mr Trump

His chief of staff said it would be unfair to link the Christchurch shooter and Mr Trump Various people have attacked Mr Trump for heightening anti-Muslim rhetoric

The violence against Muslims in New Zealand on Friday put a spotlight on Mr Trump's anti-Muslim rhetoric and revived memories of the President's comments blaming "many sides" for the 2017 violence in Charlottesville.

"Bring back @JudgeJeanine Pirro," Mr Trump wrote in Twitter posts on Sunday, in which he blamed Democrats for trying to "silence a majority of our Country" and advocated supporters to "stop working soooo hard on being politically correct".

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At the same time, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney appeared on Sunday television news shows (local time) to respond to criticism that Mr Trump has not been strong enough in condemning hate speech and has fomented anti-Muslim sentiments.

"The President is not a white supremacist. I'm not sure how many times we have to say that," Mr Mulvaney said on Fox News Sunday.

On Friday, Mr Trump condemned the "horrible massacre" at the mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, and the White House called the shootings a "vicious act of hate".

Asked by a reporter if he saw white nationalism as a rising threat around the world, Mr Trump said:

"I don't really. I think it's a small group of people."

Mr Mulvaney said the mosque massacres were the work of a disturbed individual and it would not be fair to align the shooter's ideology with that of the President or any other politician.

"I disagree that there's a causal link between Donald Trump being president and something like this happening in New Zealand," he told CBS's Face the Nation.

Trump's Charlottesville response casts shadow

Sorry, this video has expired In 2017, a right-wing extremist ploughed a car into anti-racism protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia.

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

Ms Pirro, a supporter of the President, was rebuked by Fox News last week over comments she made questioning whether a Muslim congresswoman, Ilhan Omar, was more loyal to Islamic sharia law than the US Constitution.

Her show, Justice with Judge Jeanine, was removed from its usual time slot on Saturday night.

Fox News has not confirmed whether Ms Pirro was suspended and said it would not comment further on the matter.

"Nice message for the President to send three days after a deadly terrorist attack on Muslims — standing up for a host who was suspended for anti-Muslim bigotry," Matthew Miller, a Justice Department spokesman under Democratic President Barack Obama, said on Twitter.

Democratic representatives on Sunday called on Mr Trump to defend Muslims publicly after the massacres and recognise the threat posed by white supremacists.

"[President Trump's] rhetoric doesn't help," Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democratic presidential candidate, said on CNN's State of the Union program.

"At the very least, he is dividing people. They are using him as an excuse."

On the campaign trail in 2016, Mr Trump made statements, including "I think Islam hates us", and when he became President he banned citizens of several Muslim-majority countries from entering the US.

After court challenges, his administration revised the policy.

US Representative Rashida Tlaib, a Muslim, noted that government data showed a spike in hate crimes in the last decade, citing mass shootings at a synagogue and a black church.

"He cannot just say it's a small group of people," she said on CNN.

"We need to be speaking up against this and it has to start with him. He needs to do better by us and the country. He needs to speak up and condemn this very loud and very clearly."

Hate crimes in the US jumped 17 per cent in 2017, according to FBI data.

ABC/Reuters