Well, it's official!
Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana officially announced his candidacy for president.
At the end of his speech, he and his husband, teacher Chasten Glezman, kissed.
The kiss marked a historic moment: Buttigieg is the first LGBTQ candidate in the Democratic presidential primary. If elected, he would be the youngest as well as the first openly LGBT American president.
This historical significance was not lost on many observers who wondered what it would have been like had they been able to witness such an image on the national stage when they were growing up.
Buttigieg belives he can defeat President Donald Trump in 2020.
"I recognize the audacity of doing this as a Midwestern, millennial mayor, but we live in a moment that compels us each to act," he said.
"It calls for a new generation of leadership. t's time to walk away from the politics of the past and toward something totally different."
He added:
"There's a long way for us to go. Life here is far from perfect. But we've changed our trajectory and shown a path forward for communities like ours."
"And that's why I'm here today. To tell a different story than 'Make America Great Again.' Because there is a myth being sold to industrial and rural communities: the myth that we can stop the clock and turn it back."
"It's time to walk away from the politics of the past, and toward something totally different. ... That's why, this time, it's not just about winning an election—it's about winning an era."
Buttigieg is attending a fundraiser in New York today and will be in Iowa on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Mayor Pete, the "proud son" of South Bend, has kicked off the most searing rebuttal of the Trump presidency yet.
If you want to know more about Mayor Pete, he has a book, Shortest Way Home: One Mayor's Challenge and a Model for America's Future, available here.
