White House counselor Kellyanne Conway Kellyanne Elizabeth ConwaySpecial counsel investigating DeVos for potential Hatch Act violation: report George and Kellyanne Conway honor Ginsburg Trump carries on with rally, unaware of Ginsburg's death MORE on Monday piled on in attacking progressive congresswomen who have been the subject of attacks from President Trump Donald John TrumpSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Pelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Trump 'no longer angry' at Romney because of Supreme Court stance MORE in recent days, asserting that they represent a "dark underbelly" of the country.

Conway said on Fox News that she disagreed that Trump was helping to unify Democrats just as they had been in the middle of an intraparty feud with his slams against Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-CortezOn The Money: Anxious Democrats push for vote on COVID-19 aid | Pelosi, Mnuchin ready to restart talks | Weekly jobless claims increase | Senate treads close to shutdown deadline McCarthy says there will be a peaceful transition if Biden wins Anxious Democrats amp up pressure for vote on COVID-19 aid MORE (N.Y.), Ilhan Omar Ilhan OmarOmar fires back at Trump over rally remarks: 'This is my country' Trump attacks Omar for criticizing US: 'How did you do where you came from?' Democrats scramble on COVID-19 relief amid division, Trump surprise MORE (Minn.), Rashida Tlaib Rashida Harbi TlaibTrump attacks Omar for criticizing US: 'How did you do where you came from?' George Conway: 'Trump is like a practical joke that got out of hand' Pelosi endorses Kennedy in Massachusetts Senate primary challenge MORE (Mich.) and Ayanna Pressley Ayanna PressleyFauci, Black Lives Matter founders included on Time's 100 Most Influential People list Trump attacks Omar for criticizing US: 'How did you do where you came from?' Pressley applauded on House floor after moving speech on living with alopecia MORE (Mass.).

"What the president is doing is, we are tired — sick and tired — of many people in this country," she said. "Forget these four. They represent a dark underbelly of people in this country of people who are not respecting our troops, are not giving them the resources and the respect that they deserve."

Kellyanne Conway says The Squad, a group of Democratic congresswomen of color, "represent a dark underbelly of this country" pic.twitter.com/N1JoiC9NdG — Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) July 16, 2019

She slammed the first-term lawmakers for being the only four Democrats to vote against a border funding package that included humanitarian aid to address the influx of migrants.

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In a gaggle with reporters on the White House driveway, Conway accused the press of failing to adequately question the four Democrats after they delivered a press conference denouncing Trump a day earlier.

She told reporters that the congresswomen represent a "dark element," but did not respond to a question about whether that phrase carried racial undertones.

The president sparked an uproar on Sunday morning when he tweeted that progressive congresswomen "who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe" should "go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came."

Trump spent Monday doubling down on his attacks, insisting that those who are inclined to criticize the U.S. should leave.

Conway disputed that the comments and tweets were racist, suggesting that they were about criticizing the lawmakers' policy positions. She argued that attacks on "socialism" and "communism" have "nothing to do with gender," and said she's "had it with people denigrating the American flag."

"When you throw the word racism around long enough, people get desensitized and that's a shame," she said.

Trump did not mention socialism or communism in his original tweets. Instead, he wrote the progressive congresswomen should "go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came." All four women are American citizens, and three of the four were born in the U.S.

Jordan Fabian contributed.