Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said he wouldn’t have run for president if he didn’t believe the country was ready for a gay president.

“My experience in South Bend, Indiana, in getting reelected with 80% of the vote after coming out,” Buttigieg said on Meet the Press. “And my experience, right now, traveling the country, shows me that what’s important, and what’s really on people’s minds, isn’t about you, your identity as a candidate; it’s about them. It’s about their lives.”