Biden preparing for 'tinderbox' with country on edge ahead of verdict in Chauvin trial

President Joe Biden is keeping a watchful eye on this week's closing arguments in the Minneapolis trial of Derek Chauvin, fearful that a controversial verdict could inflame new racial tensions and further escalate a deepening crisis in confidence with the nation's police forces.

The President voiced his concern about potential fallout from the trial during a private meeting last week with members of the Congressional Black Caucus, people familiar with the session said. For weeks, it has also been a point of worry in conversations with Vice President Kamala Harris, aides say, even as the White House grapples with a cascading wave of mass shootings in America.

As he begins his fourth month in office, Biden is presiding over a country on edge, as protests in several cities over the weekend underscored the fresh urgency of a national reckoning on racial justice and police reform.

The White House is bracing for a week ahead that could be particularly volatile, with a Thursday funeral set for Daunte Wright -- another Minnesota man killed by a police officer -- along with new revelations from a police-involved shooting of a 13-year-old boy in Chicago, as well as the verdict in the Chauvin trial.

The whipsaw of events, along with near-daily episodes of major shootings across the country, have only heightened pressure on both the President and Congress to hold police accountable for misconduct, a challenge now playing out against the backdrop of new calls for gun legislation.