Just days before a white supremacist rally resulted in the death of three people in Virginia, a White House adviser claimed that white supremacists were “not the problem” in America.

Sebastian Gorka, a deputy assistant to the president with a murky White House role and a controversial history, appeared on the Breitbart News Daily radio show to discuss the real threat to the US – radical Islamic terror.

“It’s this constant, ‘Oh, it’s the white man. It’s the white supremacists. That’s the problem.’ No, it isn’t, Maggie Haberman,” Mr Gorka said, referring to the prominent New York Times reporter.

He added: “Go to Sinjar. Go to the Middle East, and tell me what the real problem is today. Go to Manchester.”

Mr Gorka was responding to the backlash over his recent comments on MSNBC, in which he claimed there was “no such thing as a lone wolf” and insisted that there “has never been a serious attack or a serious plot that was unconnected from ISIS or al Qaeda”.

Mr Gorka's critics pointed to the 1995 Oklahoma city attack, in which two white men bombed a federal building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people and injuring hundreds more. Mr Gorka dismissed this point as outdated, saying that the attack took place more than 20 years ago.

“Talk to me about the last 60 years of hundreds of thousands of people killed in the middle east by jihadis,” he told Breitbart Daily News.

Three days later, a man accused of being a Nazi sympathiser allegedly hit and killed a counter-protester at a white supremacist march.

The man, James Alex Fields Jr, was attending a Charlottesville, Virginia rally protesting the removal of a Confederate monument. Police claim he ran his Dodge Charger into a crowd of counter-protesters at the rally, killing a 32-year-old woman and injuring at least 19 others.

The rally – in which attendees were seen carrying Nazi flags and chanting “Jew will not replace us” – devolved into violence after the Virginia governor attempted to shut it down. Police say 35 people were injured over the weekend.

Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Show all 9 1 /9 Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Protesters clash and several are injured White nationalist demonstrators clash with counter demonstrators at the entrance to Lee Park in Charlottesville, Virginia. A state of emergency is declared, August 12 2017 Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Trump supporters at the protest A white nationalist demonstrator walks into Lee Park in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. Hundreds of people chanted, threw punches, hurled water bottles and unleashed chemical sprays on each other Saturday after violence erupted at a white nationalist rally in Virginia. AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville State police stand ready in riot gear Virginia State Police cordon off an area around the site where a car ran into a group of protesters after a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Militia armed with assault rifles White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' with body armor and combat weapons evacuate comrades who were pepper sprayed after the 'Unite the Right' rally was declared a unlawful gathering by Virginia State Police. Militia members marched through the city earlier in the day, armed with assault rifles. Getty Images Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Statue of Confederate General Robert E Lee The statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee stands behind a crowd of hundreds of white nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' during the 'Unite the Right' rally 12 August 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. They are protesting the removal of the statue from Emancipation Park in the city. Getty Images Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Racial tensions sparked the violence White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' exchange insults with counter-protesters as they attempt to guard the entrance to Lee Park during the 'Unite the Right' rally Getty Violence on the streets of Charlottesville A car plows through protesters A vehicle drives into a group of protesters demonstrating against a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The incident resulted in multiple injuries, some life-threatening, and one death. AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Rescue personnel help injured people after a car ran into a large group of protesters after an white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville President Donald Trump speaks about the ongoing situation in Charlottesville, Virginia from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. He spoke about "loyalty" and "healing wounds" left by decades of racism.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions described the car attack as “terrorism” in an interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Monday.

“You can be sure we will charge and advance the investigation towards the most serious charges that can be brought because this is unequivocally an unacceptable evil attack,” he said.

A 2013 study from the United States Military Academy found right-wing extremists were responsible for substantially more domestic terrorist attacks since 9/11 than American Muslims.

The study concludes that “a contentious political climate and ideological political empowerment play important roles in increasing the volume of violence”.