Story highlights Mitch McConnell also is taking a cautious approach to the President

The Senate majority leader will need to work with Trump soon to avoid a fiscal crisis

(CNN) Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has publicly avoided criticizing President Donald Trump's remarks on Charlottesville, is privately upset with the President's handling of the episode, according to a source close to the Kentucky Republican.

Despite the immediate uproar that Trump caused by his stunning comments Tuesday where he defended some of the protestors during a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, McConnell remained silent and out of public view.

But McConnell, who has a long history of working on civil rights issues, is deeply concerned that Trump is reopening long-festering racial tensions, something that could fan the flames ahead of demonstrations expected in Lexington, Kentucky, the source told CNN.

The morning after Trump's comments, McConnell released a statement Wednesday ahead of a rally in Lexington similar to the one that turned violent in Charlottesville over the weekend.

"The white supremacist, KKK, and neo-nazi groups who brought hatred and violence to Charlottesville are now planning a rally in Lexington. Their messages of hate and bigotry are not welcome in Kentucky and should not be welcome anywhere in America," McConnell said in his statement.