Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg called President Trump a racist on Friday when he addressed the National Urban League in Indianapolis.
“My generation saw this country elect its first black president and then turn around and elect a racist to the White House — and we ought to call that what it is,” Buttigieg said to a round of applause at the forum, according to the Indianapolis Star.
{mosads}The comments marked one of the South Bend, Ind., mayor’s strongest rebukes of the president on the campaign trail.
Buttigieg also discussed his plan to deal with systemic racism, which his campaign has dubbed “the Douglass Plan” after abolitionist Frederick Douglass.
“I think for too long we have believed that we were on a path where systemic racism was going to take care of itself in this country,” Buttigieg said. “I’m going to be speaking about these issues not only with mostly black audiences, but with mostly white audiences.”
Buttigieg is trying to make inroads with black voters, a crucial voting bloc in the party’s primary.
A CNN poll released earlier this month showed Buttigieg polling at zero percent with black voters nationally.
The mayor also faced backlash last month for his response to the police shooting of Eric Logan, a black man, in South Bend.
Buttigieg took time off from the campaign trail to lead the city’s response.