Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg Pete ButtigiegBillionaire who donated to Trump in 2016 donates to Biden The 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 MORE in a Sunday interview expressed discomfort with Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonBloomberg rolls out M ad buy to boost Biden in Florida Hillicon Valley: Productivity, fatigue, cybersecurity emerge as top concerns amid pandemic | Facebook critics launch alternative oversight board | Google to temporarily bar election ads after polls close Trump pledges to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, designate KKK a terrorist group in pitch to Black voters MORE's characterization of Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Tulsi GabbardRepublicans call on DOJ to investigate Netflix over 'Cuties' film Hispanic Caucus campaign arm endorses slate of non-Hispanic candidates Gabbard says she 'was not invited to participate in any way' in Democratic convention MORE (D-Hawaii) as a Russian asset.

Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., told Chuck Todd Charles (Chuck) David ToddMurkowski: Supreme Court nominee should not be taken up before election Republican senator says plans to confirm justice before election 'completely consistent with the precedent' Sunday shows - Trump team defends coronavirus response MORE on "Meet the Press" that he did not want to "get in the middle of" the battle over Clinton's comments.

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But when Todd asked if he was comfortable with Clinton's critique of Gabbard, Buttigieg said, "No, I'm not."

"I'm also not going to get in the middle of it because we, as a party and as a country, have to focus on the future," he said.

WATCH: #IfItsSunday Mayor @petebuttigieg says he's not comfortable with Hillary Clinton's claim that Russians are grooming his fellow 2020 candidate Tulsi Gabbard for a third-party run.



"I'm also not going to get in the middle of it." #MTP pic.twitter.com/oCCFFaKa9u — Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) October 20, 2019

Buttigieg said the Democratic Party needs to focus "on the task at hand right now," which includes defeating President Trump Donald John TrumpFederal prosecutor speaks out, says Barr 'has brought shame' on Justice Dept. Former Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick MORE.

"That is my focus," he said. "That and what happens after this presidency comes to an end."

Clinton, asked Friday about Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and future elections, said she believed Russians have their “eye on somebody who’s currently in the Democratic primary and are grooming her to be the third-party candidate.”

Clinton didn't mention Gabbard specifically, but it was clear from her remarks who she was referencing.

"She’s the favorite of the Russians," Clinton said of the candidate. "They have a bunch of sites and bots and other ways of supporting her so far."

The former secretary of State's comments sparked backlash and prompted Gabbard to accuse Clinton of backing "a campaign to destroy my reputation."

The Hawaii representative denied that she would run as a third-party candidate. Clinton has also accused 2016 Green Party candidate Jill Stein of being used by the Russians to get President Trump elected.

Buttigieg on the topic of electoral interference said that Russia is "exploiting divisions" in the U.S.

"But the bigger issue here is Russia is working to interfere with our elections right now," he said. "And we know a big part of how they're going to do it is exploiting divisions among the American people with their information operations."