Dem presidential candidate questions Mike Pence's Christianity during CNN town hall

Mayor Pete Buttigieg questioned Vice President Mike Pence's integrity as a Christian during a CNN town hall event at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, and described the current administration as the "porn star presidency."

Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, was asked by CNN's Jake Tapper if he thought Pence would be a better or worse president than President Donald Trump.

"I don't know it's really strange because I used to at least believe that he believed, I disagreed with him ferociously on these things, but I thought, well at least he believed in our institutions and he's not personally corrupt," Buttigeig responded.

"But then how could he get on board with this presidency?" Buttigieg asked before explaining how their understandings of Scripture differed.

"My understanding of Scripture," he explained, "it's about protecting the stranger and the prisoner and the poor person and that idea of welcome. That's what I get in the gospel when I'm in church. And his has a lot more to do with sexuality and I don't know, a certain view of rectitude but even if you buy all of that, how could he allow himself to become the cheerleader of the porn star presidency?

"Is it that he stopped believing in Scripture when he started believing in Donald Trump?" he asked to great applause from the CNN audience.

"I don't know," he concluded. "I don't know."

Buttigieg was referring to the president making payments to Stormy Daniels, the adult film star, through his former lawyer Michael Cohen ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Buttigieg would be the Democratic Party's first openly gay candidate if he formally launches a White House bid.

Watch the video of Buttigieg's comments: