Pete Buttigieg has sights set on White House

INDIANAPOLIS — South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg was in Indianapolis Friday night for the NAACP's 50th Freedom Fund Banquet at the downtown Marriott.

Buttigieg, a Democratic presidential hopeful, was the keynote speaker for the event, and he has his sights set on the White House.

"We're in it to win it. I've decided to not seek another term as mayor in South Bend," Buttigieg said after his speech. "I'm competing for the presidency because that's where I believe I can make myself most useful."

In front of the crowd at the Freedom Fund Banquet, Buttigieg touched on several other issues he says need to be addressed in the country at the highest levels.

"When we are a few years away from having 100 millions more guns on the streets. The time is now. When we are a few court decisions away from a woman's right to choose not even existing, the time is now," Buttigieg said.

And while the man dubbed Mayor Pete traverses the country looking to get support from Americans, he's also paying attention to what's going on in Washington with the impeachment inquiry surrounding President Donald Trump.

"I'm encountering a lot of life-long Republicans who are horrified at what this president has done, by what this president has admitted doing on television," Buttigieg said. "It's not just things that'll emerge in the investigation. It's stuff that has happened in plain sight."

Buttigieg was one of the first Democratic nominee hopefuls to call for impeachment back in the spring. He said that no matter what happens in the 2020 election, it's the right thing to do for the sake of the country's history.