Pete Buttigieg returned to Iowa on Tuesday with some subtle and not-so-subtle messages about what's changed since he ran in the state's 2020 Democratic presidential caucuses. Buttigieg gave a strident critique of President Donald Trump's administration while demanding Democrats make their agenda clear and reach out to people who disagree with them. "the President's unpopular, but that doesn't mean my side wins. Democrats do not have the best brand around here and a lot of places," said the former U.S. Secretary of Transportation. "There's a lot reasons for that, some fair, some unfair." It was a return to where Buttigieg emerged as a national political figure six years ago, when the millennial former South Bend mayor rose among a class of better-known Democrats to finish atop the Iowa Democratic Party's 2020 presidential caucuses. The combination rally and policy chat toggled between questions about the future of the Democratic Party, both nationally and in Iowa, after three consecutive elections where Donald Trump has carried the once-competitive swing state. Buttigieg acknowledged Democrats need to revisit some of their policy principles without naming any. A number of other potential 2028 contenders are traveling the country in the early days of the second Trump administration.