Kamala Harris has expressed displeasure with Pete Buttigieg bringing up the discrimination he has felt as a gay man in America when pressed during Wednesday's debate about his history with the African American community and why they should support his candidacy.

"Those of us who've been involved in civil rights for a long time, we know that it is important that we not compare our struggles," Harris said on Thursday, during a Black Women Power Breakfast hosted by the political organization Higher Heights. "It is not productive, it is not smart, and strategically it works against what we need to do, which is build coalition."

"There is so much of my work that has been grounded in, as the slogan of my campaign [says], 'For the people,' which is, in its essence, a statement about the fact that we agree that a harm against any one of us is a harm against all of us, and therefore that no one should be made to fight alone," Harris continued.

"So we know that in our ongoing fight for civil rights, if any one of us starts to differentiate ourselves in a certain way—and in particular what he did on the stage—it's just not productive, and I think it's a bit naive."

Video from the event follows, with Harris' remarks on Buttigieg coming at just after the 20 minute mark.

Buttigieg rejected that framing of his debate remarks, CBS News reports, saying he is aware "there's no equating those two experiences."

"What I do think is important is for each of us to reveal who we are and what motivates us and it's important for voters to understand what makes me tick, what moves me and my sources of motivation and ensuring that I stand up for others," Buttigieg told reporters. "Last night I shared that some of my sources of motivation included my personal experience, my governing experience and my personal faith."

The South Bend mayor said during Wednesday's debate that he agreed with Harris' statement regarding the Democratic Party taking black voters for granted.

"I welcome the challenge of connecting with black voters in America who don’t yet know me," he continued, from the debate stage. "And I care about this, because while I do not have the experience of ever having been discriminated against because of the color of my skin, I do have the experience of sometimes feeling like a stranger in my own country."

"Turning on the news and seeing my own rights come up for debate, and seeing my rights expanded by a coalition of people like me and people not at all like me, working side-by-side, shoulder-to-shoulder, making it possible for me to stand here wearing this wedding ring in a way that couldn’t have happened two elections ago, let’s me know just how deep my obligation is to help those whose rights are on the line every day, even if they are nothing like me in their experience," he added.

Buttigieg is facing increased pressure and criticisms from his opponents in the Democratic primary as he surges in the polls in the early caucus and voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire.

At the same time, he has struggled to garner support from the African American community, with a recent Quinnipiac University poll showing him with less than 1% of support from black voters in South Carolina. He will have a difficult time winning the nomination if he is unable to find a way to gain more support from that crucial voting bloc.