Michael Avenatti said Tuesday it's "time for a change" regarding the Democratic leadership team in Congress of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.).

Avenatti, a Democrat, spoke to NBC News while on a trip to Iowa as he explores a run for president in 2020. He is the attorney for porn actress Stormy Daniels, who claims she received hush money over an affair she had with Donald Trump in 2006, and he has been a ubiquitous cable news presence in 2018 as a vocal critic of the Trump White House.

Avenatti said the top consideration for who should be the Democratic nominee had to be whether they could defeat Trump, and he's said he can match and defeat Trump's streetfighter-style politics.

"Has Democratic leadership been strong enough? Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer?" reporter Vaughn Hillyard asked.

"I think they've been strong enough, but I think admittedly that it's time for a change," Avenatti said. "I think there's an undercurrent within the party brought by the younger generation, and everything has a time limit on it. Nothing lasts forever."

"I think that we've begun to see over the last few months, and certainly back in '16, I think the seeds were sown, relating to the need for a younger generation to be handed the baton, to take the leadership of the party," he added.

A raw cut of conversation with Michael Avenatti. On Pelosi & Schumer: "I think, admittedly, it’s time for a change." On being qualified to be POTUS: "Well I certainly think I’m more qualified than the existing commander in chief." Video—-> https://t.co/VYhR2qeNlR pic.twitter.com/YUtCBM5t0l — Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) August 14, 2018

Asked if he could say he was qualified to be the president, Avenatti said he was more qualified than Trump.

"I think I'm more intelligent. I think I have a bigger heart. I think I have more courage," he said. "I think I would certainly command more respect."

He said the country is on the "precipice of catastrophe" with Trump in office and added "desperate times call for desperate measures."

"I am prepared, if need be, to enter the race to potentially beat this guy," Avenatti said.