Pete Buttigieg officially ended his campaign for President on Sunday night.
"Tonight I'm making the difficult decision to suspend my campaign for the presidency," he said in a speech from South Bend, Indiana, where he served as Mayor.
"America has faced enormous challenges, from an economy in transition, to a climate on the brink, to a president sowing chaos and discord across the very country he is responsible for uniting," added Buttigieg.
“The truth is the path has narrowed to a close for our candidacy if not for our cause,” he said. “We must recognize that at this point in the race, the best way to keep faith with those goals and ideals is to step aside and help bring our party and country together.”
Buttigieg had been scheduled to fly from Selma, Alabama, to Dallas, Texas, but during the flight he informed reporters that he would be flying back to his hometown to make an announcement on the future of his campaign.
Buttigieg made the decision on Sunday, aides told CNN, after he struggled to compete in South Carolina's primary and had little path toward success on Super Tuesday.
"He believes this is the right thing to do right now for our country and the country to heal this divided nation and defeat President Trump," the aide said.
"He decided that now was the time and, I think that is exactly why he is getting out. He believes this is the right thing to do," added the aide.
While Buttigieg narrowly won the Iowa caucuses and came in a close second in New Hampshire, his campaign subsequently struggled to nationalize its operation. The former South Bend, Indiana mayor's struggles to win over voters of color, a key base to the Democratic Party, proved insurmountable in Nevada and South Carolina, two states where Buttigieg finished significantly behind the race's frontrunners.
Buttigieg was critical of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at times. Last April, he called Netanyahu’s pledge to annex Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria, calling it a “provocation”.
In June, Buttigieg warned that if Netanyahu carries out his plan to annex communities in Judea and Samaria, he would if elected ensure no US taxpayer funds support the move.