Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, defended President Trump as someone who “doesn’t have a racist bone in his body” as the commander in chief faces backlash over his comments about the violence in Charlottesville over the weekend.

Hatch, who said he spoke with Trump over the phone on the matter, repeated those words throughout an interview with KUTV, a CBS affiliate in Salt Lake City.

“To ascribe racism to the president which some people are trying to do is not only hitting below the belt it’s vicious stuff,” Hatch said. “He’s done a lot to try and help quell racism in this country.”

On Saturday, a demonstration held by white supremacy groups and allies protesting the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue in Charlottesville turned violent when counter-protesters confronted them. Amid the tense standoff, 19 people were injured and one woman was killed when a car drove into a crowd of counter-protesters.

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