ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Rep. Joe Morelle is back in Rochester and answering questions about where he stands about supporting President Joe Biden’s reelection bid.

News10NBC Investigative Reporter Jennifer Lewke has been trying to speak with him since a few national outlets reported last week that Morelle thinks the president should step aside.

Lewke spoke to Morelle at a public event in Rochester on Wednesday. The congressman was at the St. Joseph’s Neighborhood Center to present a long-time volunteer with the Congressional Award of Distinction. It’s the first time he’s been back from Washington since he made those comments about the president stepping aside and since the attempted assassination of Former President Donald Trump

Lewke asked Representative Morelle to confirm he expressed to his colleagues that President Biden should drop out of the race.

Rep. Joe Morelle, D-Rochester: “I don’t comment on private conversations I’m having with folks, or when I express opinions, privately, as we’re trying to grapple with tough questions.”

Jennifer Lewke: “Can I just ask you directly? Do you think the president should be on the top of the ticket?”

Joe Morelle: “Well look, I would today think that he still has work to do if he’s going to convince people that he can not only run and run successfully but that he can continue to govern. And again, it’s his decision because he has the delegates and the pledge delegates but frankly, I think there’s real concerns and I would still have concerns today and would share them with the president. If he was interested I’ve been on a lot of calls with him I was on a call with him the other day where people asked questions and I think frankly he’s got work to do.”

Morelle also said:

“I continue to believe that the president has a higher bar to get over now to get people to accept him as the nominee or to believe that he can serve as president for another four years. So for all the conversations about what members of Congress think, I keep reminding people it’s not what members of Congress think, it’s really what the American public thinks. They are the ultimate arbiter of what happens.”

Rep. Joe Morelle

Regardless of who is ultimately elected, Morelle believes a full and transparent investigation into the Secret Service’s actions before and during the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, is crucial.

“The notion that somebody could be 400 feet from the former president who is the nominee of a major party for president with a high-powered rifle – I think there’s so many questions to begin asking that it’s hard to summarize them all.”

The congressman says there are stepped-up security measures in place for all members of Congress following the assassination attempt on Saturday and increased surveillance of social media threats against members and candidates.