Pete Buttigieg officially announces 2020 presidential bid

April 14 (UPI) -- Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Ind., officially announced his presidential bid on Sunday afternoon.

Buttigieg addressed a capacity crowd at Studebaker Building 84, a former car factory in downtown South Bend that has been converted into hub for tech startups, where he outlined his campaign messages centered around the three pillars of security, democracy and freedom.

"My name is Pete Buttigieg. They call me Mayor Pete. I am a proud son of South Bend, Indiana and I'm running for president of the United States," he said. "I recognize the audacity of doing this as a Midwestern millennial mayor. More than a little bold -- at age 37 to seek the highest office in the land."

Buttigieg said the location of his announcement held "symbolic power" of the change the area experienced during his time as mayor.

"I talk so much about how we're not looking to turn back the clock and it's not about retrieving some impossible again," he said. That building is kind of a living symbol of all of that."

The 2020 Democratic hopeful took aim at President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign slogan, saying he plans to "tell a different story than Make America Great Again."

"The horror show in Washington is mesmerizing, all-consuming," he said. "But starting today, we are going to change the channel. Sometimes a dark moment brings out the best in us, what is good in us, dare I say, what is great in us."

Buttigieg who would be the first openly gay nominee of a major presidential party also declared that "change is coming, ready or not."

"The forces of change in our country today are tectonic," he said. "Forces that help to explain what made this current presidency even possible. That's why, this time, it's not just about winning an election -- it's about winning an era."