Washington (CNN) Pete Buttigieg said Sunday he wants to "change the channel from this mesmerizing horror show" happening in Washington right now.

The presidential hopeful and mayor of South Bend, Indiana, appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press" and said the US is "going through tectonic, profound change" and described "an office that has a loss of vision and a loss of decency."

The mayor described "this moment" in American history, "where it just might make sense for somebody my age, coming from experience in the industrial Midwest, non-federal, a different background, bringing something that will actually help Americans envision the world as it'll be in 2054, the year that I will reach the current age of the current President, and just change the channel from this mesmerizing horror show that's going on in Washington right now."

Buttigieg, who is 37, has formed a presidential exploratory committee, and if elected would be the youngest president in US history, the first married gay president and the first candidate to go direct from being mayor to being President.

"I'm about as different from this President as it gets," Buttigieg said.