Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg Pete ButtigiegThe Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - GOP closes ranks to fill SCOTUS vacancy by November Buttigieg stands in as Pence for Harris's debate practice Hillicon Valley: FBI, DHS warn that foreign hackers will likely spread disinformation around election results | Social media platforms put muscle into National Voter Registration Day | Trump to meet with Republican state officials on tech liability shield MORE gave an 11-year-old girl advice on how to handle bullies at an Iowa campaign stop on Saturday and, in a jab at President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE, said it is important that we "have a president that doesn’t show that type of behavior."

The South Bend, Ind., mayor, who is openly gay, told the crowd that he was bullied when he was young.

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“I had experiences with bullying when I was growing up,” he said. “A lot of how bullies are made is that they were bullied themselves…and they don’t know how to deal with it.”

Buttigieg told the girl, who was identified by the name Rebecca, that “you have nothing to be ashamed of."

He also told her that sometimes bullies are created because they were bullied themselves.

“The person who’s bullying you probably has something a little broken in them," he added. They want to get a response out of you."

"When you show that it doesn’t get to you... they’re going to follow your lead,” he said.

Buttigieg is among two dozen people vying for the Democratic Party's 2020 presidential nomination. He was once seen as a long shot candidate but has recently experienced a surge in the polls.