(CNN) Rep. Hakeem Jeffries says that Donald Trump's response to the violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, led many Americans "to conclude that the President of the United States chose to pull the sheets off and reveal himself."

The Democratic congressman from New York made the remark Monday in an interview with Wolf Blitzer on CNN's "The Situation Room."

Jeffries was asked by Blitzer to compare the President's reaction to NFL players protesting racial injustice with Trump's response after a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville last month led to clashes and a death.

"(Trump's) reaction to Charlottesville was clearly inadequate, unacceptable, inappropriate, and for many people throughout America, led them to conclude that the President of the United States chose to pull the sheets off and reveal himself, in terms of his tendency to be a racial arsonist, fanning the flames of hatred," Jeffries said.

Jeffries told Blitzer that he doesn't believe all of Trump's supporters are racist. "That is not the case, but his behavior is deeply troubling to Americans of all race and religious backgrounds who believe in the values of tolerance, decency and diversity," Jeffries said.

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