President Obama mulls trip to Baltimore

President Obama said early Wednesday he will not visit Baltimore in the near future in response to unrest surrounding the death of Freddie Gray.

{mosads}The president said on “The Steve Harvey Morning Show” that visiting the riot-scarred city now would “take a lot of assets out of where they need to be” but added he would visit in the future.

“I think there’s going to be a time when I go back to Baltimore,” he said.

The death of Gray, a 25-year-old black man, while in police custody has become part of the tense national debate over race and policing that has raged since the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., last summer.

Civil rights groups are pushing Obama to launch a sweeping policy response to what they say is widespread police brutality.

But the president made a forceful case that he cannot solve the problem on his own.

He stressed that his administration has monitored the situation in Baltimore and offered assistance to local officials.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch and senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett phoned mayors around the country on Tuesday to discuss ways to rebuild trust between police and their communities, the White House said Tuesday. Three Justice Department officials were in Baltimore to meet with city leaders.

Jarrett continues to be in regular contact with Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (D).

Obama said, however, it’s up to local communities to address the problems within their own police departments.

“There are a lot of resources available, but local communities have to want it,” he said.

The president said police-related deaths have become far too common, and they will only stop once policymakers address underlying issues, such as poverty, drugs, and lack of public investment in cities.

“I’ve seen this movie too many times before,” he said.

Obama said that, “once the fires are out,” people have a tendency “to focus on whatever reality TV thing is going on,” instead of tackling policy changes that could help people of color.

“We’ve got to make sure we don’t brush this aside after the crisis has passed,” he said.

The president reiterated his condemnation of the violent protests that took place on Monday, which led to at least 20 police being injured, widespread property destruction and more than 200 arrests. He said it “disrespects the family” of Gray, who called for calm.

“There’s no excuse for that. That’s not a statement; that’s not politics; that’s not activism,” he said. “That’s criminal behavior.”

The president said his “heart goes” out to the injured police officers and praised their response to the violent protests, saying they showed “appropriate restraint.”