(CNN) President Barack Obama sharply criticized Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump for saying earlier this week that the black community is in the worst shape it's "ever been in before."

"I think even most 8-year-olds will tell you that whole slavery thing wasn't very good for black people," Obama told ABC News in an interview that aired Friday on "Good Morning America." "Jim Crow wasn't very good for black people. What we have to do is use our history to propel us to make even more progress in the future."

Obama's comments reflected the wide gulf between the President and Trump that came into greater focus this week as race again became a top issue in the 2016 campaign following fatal police shootings of African-American men in Oklahoma and North Carolina. Speaking before a mostly white audience Tuesday in Kenansville, North Carolina, Trump spoke of the need to "rebuild our inner cities."

"Our African-American communities are absolutely in the worst shape that they've ever been in before. Ever. Ever. Ever," Trump said.

The speech was part of a high-profile push by the Trump campaign to plug gaps in poll numbers with minority voters, and also to win over white voters turned off by divisive rhetoric from Trump that critics have repeatedly labeled as racist.

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