EXETER�� South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg told a 1,000-person crowd to let America�s values to �lead us in a progressive direction� during a campaign stop at Exeter High School Thursday night. Campaign officials said it was his third largest event to date in New Hampshire.

Buttigieg, 37, talked about making sure all Americans are on some form of health care, be it through their private insurer or Medicare, under his �Medicare for All Who Want it� policy; forcing corporations to pay taxes, repairing global alliances and addressing climate change as �the global security threat of our times,� during his half-hour remarks. The town hall included a question and answer segment as attendees submitted questions randomly drawn on stage.

�We cannot wait four years to do something about these issues,� the Democrat said. "We�re close to the point of no return on the climate and it can�t wait. We can�t wait to deliver an economy where a rising tide actually does lift all boats, instead of finding that some of the boats are tied down to the ocean floor and get swamped.�

During an interview with Seacoastonline before he addressed the crowd, Buttigieg talked about the top issue that has defined the Democratic presidential debates so far: health care.

Asked how a mayor with zero political experience in Washington would pass what is in essence a public option to buy into Medicare, when President Barrack Obama failed to do so, Buttigieg said the conversation has changed dramatically in the last decade, building off the Affordable Care Act. In 2009, with Democratic control of both houses of Congress, the ACA passed in the House with a public option. The proposal died in the Senate when Democrats refused to pass the public option through budget reconciliation.

�To me, the extraordinary potential of the moment we're in is there�s an American majority that stands ready to tackle big issues that didn't exist in the same way even a few years ago,� he said.

Buttigieg said he's in favor of the impeachment proceedings because Trump�s alleged actions left the House of Representatives �no choice.� He said his focus was on best positioning himself to defeat Trump should he remain in office when asked if his campaign would benefit if U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker and Amy Klobuchar leave the campaign trail to preside over an impeachment trial.

�This is about whether future presidents will conclude they can get away with anything, of whether there�s some message that the president is not above the law� Buttigieg said. �I also have a pretty dim view of the likelihood Senate Republicans to do the right thing.�

Buttigieg discussed his military service including his seven months in Afghanistan as a lieutenant in the Navy Reserve. He said ending America�s longest war will require a negotiated settlement with all parties, including the Taliban, while ensuring the Afghan government has a meaningful role at the table. But he added American forces currently in-country �had to leave.� He aired the possibility of an indefinite deployment of American special forces in Afghanistan similar to those in Syria before they were abruptly pulled out on Trump�s orders in October, which led to a Turkish incursion into Kurdish-occupied parts of the country.

�(Afghanistan) is beginning to feel like an endless war, I thought I was one of the last troops when I left and that was years ago,� Buttigieg said. �We�re likely going to have to have some capability simply to make sure (Afghanistan) does not again become a place where an attack against the United States is launched.�

Phil Sherwood of Atkinson said he appreciated Buttigieg for wanting to bring �truth-telling� back to the presidency, which he sees as the only way to unite the nation to address major issues such as climate change and income inequality.

�He hit a home run,� Sherwood said. �I was predisposed to not liking him. I thought he was too young and hadn�t paid his dues. He�s the positive voice we need right now. His approach will be inclusive and honest.�

According to Real Clear Politics, Buttigieg is polling at 11.3% nationally behind Sanders, Warren and the front-runner Biden, currently polling at a 27.8% average. The most recent state polls by Emerson College and Suffolk University/Boston Globe depict Sanders as the front runner, leading by 4 points over Buttigieg in the Emerson poll and 2 points over Warren in the Globe poll.

Buttigieg�s most recent trip to New Hampshire comes as he has been on the defensive.

Warren on Friday called him to open up his �big-dollar� political fundraisers to the media during a campaign event in Boston, and asked him to disclose members of his campaign�s finance committee who she said �are the bundlers who are raising big money for him.�

Buttigieg�s campaign said Warren leaves much to be desired in her personal transparency.

�Sen. Warren held closed door fundraisers for years, which allowed her to start this campaign with over $10 million raised by the same practices she now decries,� said Matt Corridoni, Buttigieg�s deputy rapid response director. �But if Elizabeth Warren wants to have a discussion about transparency, she should start by releasing her tax returns from before 2008 when she was a corporate lawyer, defending clients she would likely call bad actors today.�

Buttigieg also faces scrutiny for working for the consultancy McKinsey, a firm criticized for consulting the Trump administration on ways to cut costs for detaining migrants, such as by cutting back food and medical care, according to an investigation published by ProPublica and The New York Times.

Buttigieg last month criticized McKinsey for engaging in what he called �disgusting� behavior in regard to its work with the Trump White House and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He said he is still under terms of a non-disclosure agreement barring him from discussing his work at McKinsey, but on Friday called on the company to release the list of clients he worked for at the firm during an interview on New Hampshire Public Radio.