President Obama 'concerned' about Chicago amid tumult, spokesman says

The Chicago Tribune reports:

President Barack Obama is following the events in Chicago following the release of a recording showing the police shooting of Laquan McDonald, and "like other citizens of that fine city, he's concerned," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters Thursday.

Earnest said as of a few days ago, Obama had not spoken recently with Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who was the president's first White House chief of staff.

Earnest went on to say that Emanuel "has acknowledged that a lot of work needs to be done to rebuild trust" between the Chicago police and the citizens they serve.

"And the mayor himself took responsibility, both for the shortcomings that had been observed and on fixing it," Earnest said. "Ultimately, the citizens of Chicago will have to determine exactly how they feel about that."

Barack "Uncle Tom" Obama.