U.S. President Barack Obama saw a similarity between the Occupy Wall Street movement and the Tea Party, saying they all represent frustration of the people, according to U.S. media reports on Tuesday.

Protestors take part in the "Occupy Chicago" demonstration in Chicago's financial district on Oct. 3, 2011. The protest on Wall Street in New York against corporate greed spread out to Chicago, as the "Occupy Chicago" demonstration entered its tenth day on Monday. [Zhang Baoping/Xinhua]

In an interview with ABC that is to air Tuesday night, Obama said he understands "the frustrations being expressed in those protests... In some ways, they're not that different from some of the protests that we saw coming from the Tea Party. Both on the left and the right, I think people feel separated from their government. They feel that their institutions aren't looking out for them."

Obama argued his vision for the U.S. economic system is best suited to resolve protesters' concerns, alluding to his American Jobs Act, which would be funded in part by raising taxes on wealthier Americans and some corporations in order to make them pay "their fair share."

When protesters "feel that everybody gets a fair shake but we' re also asking a fair share from everybody," said Obama. "A lot of that anger, that frustration dissipates."