Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in an interview on Tuesday that a call from Democrats to return to a past status quo would be “substantively wrong” and fail politically. 

“The truth is, proto-authoritarian governments do not just come out of nowhere. We would not be here in this situation if the government, the economy, and the politics of our country were healthy. They’ve been unhealthy for a long time,” Buttigieg told MSNBC’s Jen Psaki. 

“If my party seems like it’s calling for a return to a status quo from before, that would be both substantively wrong and politically it would fail,” he continued.

Buttigieg acknowledged in his interview with Psaki that the party needs to make a clearer case to voters about how they would be different from Trump and his Republican allies, citing issue areas like taxes, wages, and health care. 

“This is not a question of accommodating things that we don’t agree with or watering down or changing our values. It is a question that we have to make very clear to everybody, how your everyday life is different if we’re in charge compared to if they’re in charge,” Buttigieg said. 

The interview marks one of Buttigieg’s first forays back into the spotlight since leaving office in January. Buttigieg is seen as one of the leading potential 2028 presidential contenders and a rising star within the Democratic Party. 

This month, Buttigieg will travel to the early presidential contest state of Iowa to participate in a town hall with the liberal veterans group VoteVets. Buttigieg is expected to discuss President Trump’s impact on veterans during his first 100 days in office.