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WASHINGTON President Obama says the United States is less racially divided despite the tensions raging from deadly police shootings and emotional protests.

Compared to six years ago when he made history as the first black president, Obama says American race relations are on the upswing.

I actually think that its probably in its day-to-day interactions less racially divided, Obama told National Public Radio.

Americans, however, seem to disagree.

A Bloomberg Politics survey out this month found a majority of Americans 53 percent feel interactions between white and black communities have deteriorated since Obama took office.

The choke-hold death of Eric Garner on Staten Island and fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. sparked nationwide outrage when the white officers in both cases were not criminally charged. Obama has sought to channel the frustration into a national campaign for better police relations.

Americans have been divided by race over the outcome. The majority of white Americans agreed with the decision not to charge Ferguson Officer Darren Wilson in Browns death, while nearly all blacks disagreed.

A slight majority of whites, however, disagreed with a grand jurys decision not to charge Office Daniel Pantaleo in New York, according to Bloombergs survey.

Obama also expressed optimism the New Year will usher in cooperation in Congress under GOP control. Now youve got Republicans in a position where its not enough for them simply to grind the wheels of Congress to a halt and then blame me.

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Obama says US less racially divided