Donald Trump says that he thinks race relations in the United States have become better during his presidency — or they at least haven’t gotten worse.

“They’ve gotten better, or the same — look, they’ve been frayed for a long time,” Mr Trump said when asked if he had improved race relations in light of the recent violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Mr Trump continued to say that race relations were bound to get better because the economy under his watch has been strong, and that he expects more jobs that could smooth things out further.

The statement came just days after a violent clash between far-right groups protesting the removal of a Confederate statue in Charlottesville, and counter protest groups. Those clashes culminated in the death of one woman, after a driver smashed through a counter protest group on the streets. Nineteen others were injured by the vehicle.

Mr Trump’s political career has notably drawn frequent criticism for what many see as a racist tone. He largely built his political persona up by questioning the legitimacy of Barack Obama’s claims that he was born in the United States. Instead, Mr Trump theorized that Mr Obama was born in Africa (he later admitted Mr Obama was born in the US, which he was).