White supremacists and violent extremism pose a “persistent, pervasive threat” to the US, FBI Director Chris Wray told members of Congress on Thursday. His comments broke from those of President Trump, who has repeatedly downplayed the threat.

“The danger, I think, of white supremacists, violent extremism, or any other kind of violent extremism is, of course, significant,” Wray told the House Appropriations Committee, when asked how his agency is addressing the threat. “It’s a persistent, pervasive threat. We tackle it both through our joint terrorism task forces on the domestic side as well as the civil rights program on the criminal side through hate crime enforcement.”

Wray’s comments stand in stark contrast to how Trump has referred to white supremacist movements and violence despite a number of high-profile cases during his presidency.

The day after 50 people were shot and killed in the New Zealand mosque terror attack, where the suspect left behind a racist manifesto, Trump said he didn’t see white nationalism as a growing threat.



“I don’t really,” Trump told a reporter in the Oval Office on March 15. “I think it’s a small group of people that have very, very serious problems, I guess.”

It was not the first time Trump has drawn backlash for his comments regarding white supremacists and race.