South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, says a lot of Americans are being radicalized by the Trump administration.
Buttigieg, responding to a question about Trump's support in the American interior, told Vox "the reality is that when people are economically or socially dislocated, they are always more vulnerable to being radicalized. And I think a lot of Americans are being radicalized by this administration.
"The experience of disruption that's gone on, especially in the interior, has obviously made it more fertile to being taken advantage of by people like this president."
The little-known mayor has emerged as one of the top candidates in the Democratic race for president.
The 37-year-old has the third-highest amount of support among Democrats, putting him behind former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
Buttigieg, who is openly gay, also said he agreed with the notion that being a male "in our society and in our politics" was an advantage.
"(But) if somebody is saying that I should not compete because I'm a man, I don't know what to say to that,” he added. "And if somebody is saying that I had it easy, I would invite them to join the military and enter Indiana politics in 2010 as a gay person. See how easy they find it."