Yesterday President Carter said opposition to the Obama administration's healthcare reform plans and raising of the public deficit were rooted in racism.
The 84-year-old pointed to incidents such as Congressman Joe Wilson's 'you lie' outburst as evidence for his theory.
But President Obama's spokesman Robert Gibbs told journalists at the White House: 'The president does not believe that that criticism comes based on the colour of his skin.
'We understand that people have disagreements with some of the decisions that we've made and some of the extraordinary actions that had to be undertaken by both this administration and previous administrations to stabilise our financial system, to ensure viability of our domestic auto industry.
'Like I said, the president does not believe that it's based on the colour of his skin.'
Earlier this week, Mr Carter, who was president from 1977 to 1981, told ABC News: 'I think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man, that he's African-American.
'I live in the south, and I've seen the south come a long way, and I've seen the rest of the country that shares the south's attitude toward minority groups at that time, particularly African-Americans.'
President Obama has faced faltering opinion poll ratings over his ambitious plans to overhaul the American healthcare system and kick-start its economy.
South Carolina Republican Mr Wilson has been officially reprimanded by Congress for his outburst last week.
But his son Alan denied that racism was a motivating factor in the incident.
'There is not a racist bone in my dad's body,' he said.
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