Former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani has defended his assertion that President Barack Obama did not love America and said that his criticism of Mr Obama’s upbringing should not be considered racist because the president was raised by “a white mother”.

Mr Giuliani’s remarks, made at a fundraising event on Wednesday night, set off an uproar.

“I do not believe, and I know this is a horrible thing to say, but I do not believe that the president loves America,” Mr Giuliani said at the event. “He doesn’t love you and he doesn’t love me.

“He wasn’t brought up the way you were brought up and I was brought up, through love of this country.”

Critics suggested Mr Giuliani’s description of Mr Obama’s upbringing reflected a prejudiced view that he was different from other Americans. Mr Giuliani dismissed the criticism and said he was describing the world view that had shaped Mr Obama’s upbringing.

“Some people thought it was racist – I thought that was a joke, since he was brought up by a white mother, a white grandfather, went to white schools and most of this he learned from white people,” Mr Giuliani he said. “This isn’t racism. This is socialism or possibly anti-colonialism.”

He also challenged a reporter to find examples of Mr Obama expressing love for his country.

“I’m happy for him to give a speech where he talks about what’s good about America and doesn’t include all the criticism,” he said.

– (New York Times service)