"I have been a member of Trinity Church since 1992. I have known Rev. Wright for almost 20 years," he said at a news conference in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. "The person I saw yesterday is not the person I met 20 years ago."

Obama said he is outraged by Wright's remarks that seemed to suggest the U.S. government might be responsible for the spread of AIDS in the black community and his equation of some American wartime efforts with terrorism.

"What particularly angered me was his suggestion somehow that my previous denunciation of his remarks were somehow political posturing," Obama said, adding that Wright had shown "little regard for me" and seemed more concerned with "taking center stage."

Obama said Wright's comments were not only "divisive and destructive," but they "end up giving comfort to those who prey on hate." Watch Obama describe Wright's comments »

Obama said he did not think Wright's comments accurately portrayed the perspective of the black church and said they "certainly do not portray accurately" his own values and beliefs.

Throughout his campaign, Obama has said he wants to be a uniter, said Bill Schneider, a CNN senior political analyst.

"Now Rev. Wright comes forward and says many intensely divisive things, particularly along racial lines. That's exactly the opposite of what Barack Obama is trying to achieve in his life and in his campaign, so he made a very powerful effort today to distance himself and denounce Rev. Wright's comments," Schneider