WASHINGTON, March 17 (Reuters) - The White House pushed back

on Sunday against any attempt to link President Donald Trump to

the accused shooter who killed 50 people in two New Zealand

mosques, saying the act of a disturbed individual cannot be

blamed on any one politician.

"The president is not a white supremacist. I'm not sure how

many times we have to say that," White House acting chief of

staff Mick Mulvaney said on "Fox News Sunday."

Trump on Friday condemned the "horrible massacre" at the

mosques and the White House called the shooting a "vicious act

of hate."

Asked by a reporter on Friday if he sees white nationalism

as a rising threat around the world, Trump said: "I don’t

really. I think it’s a small group of people."

The accused gunman’s manifesto praised the U.S. president as

"a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose," even

though he did not support his policies. The reference revived

criticism that Trump has not been strong enough in condemning

hate speech and has fomented anti-Muslim sentiment.

"I don't think it's fair to cast this person as a supporter

of Donald Trump," Mulvaney said. "Any more than it is to look at

his eco-terrorist passages in that manifesto and align him with

(Democratic House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi or Ms. Ocasio-Cortez," a

Democratic congresswoman.

"This was a disturbed individual, an evil person," he said.

Trump drew strong criticism in the days after a deadly white

supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 when he

equated white supremacists with counter-protesters and saying

"both sides" were to blame.

"Time and time again, this president has embraced and

emboldened white supremacists—and instead of condemning racist

terrorists, he covers for them. This isn't normal or

acceptable," Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a 2020 Democratic

presidential candidate, said on Twitter after Friday's mosque

shootings.

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)