Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday responded to presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg's criticism of his opposition to LGBT rights, including marriage equality.

Appearing on CNBC's Squawk Box, Pence said that Buttigieg, the openly gay mayor of South Bend, Indiana, was using the issue to stand out in a crowded Democratic primary field.

“Well, look, I worked very closely with Mayor Pete when I was governor of the state of Indiana,” Pence said. “We had a great working relationship, and he said some things that are critical of my Christian faith and about me personally. And he knows better; he knows me.”

“I get it. You know, it's, like, you have 19 people running for president on that side, and part of it is sliding off to the left. They're all competing with one another for how much more liberal they can be. I get that,” he said.

Buttigieg has repeatedly called out the vice president.

In one exchange, he questioned Pence's faith, asking, “How could he allow himself to be the cheerleader of the porn star president?” “Is it he stopped believing in scripture when he started believing in Trump?” he rhetorically asked.

In an emotional speech on Sunday, Buttigieg took another swipe at Pence.

In that speech, Buttigieg talked about how he struggled to come out and how his marriage to Chasten had changed his life. “Thank God there was no pill [to make me straight],” he said.

(Related: At Victory Fund brunch, Pete Buttigieg says he would have done anything not to be gay.)

“Being married to Chasten has made me a better human being. … And yes Mr. Vice President, it has moved me closer to God,” Buttigieg said.

On Monday, he delivered another blow to the vice president.

“Just because you are LGBTQ doesn't mean it's OK to discriminate against you,” he said in Las Vegas. “I think most people get that. I think most Christians get that. And it's time for us to move on toward a more inclusive and more humane vision of faith that what this vice president represents.”

Pence has touched on all of these themes. As governor of Indiana, Pence signed a bill into law that critics said would give business owners the right discriminate against the LGBT community. He's also supported therapies that attempt to alter the sexual orientation or gender identity of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, which suggests he believes being LGBT is a choice.

On Thursday, Pence reiterated his opposition to marriage equality.

“My family and I have a view of marriage that's informed by our faith, and we stand by that,” he said. “But that doesn't mean that we're critical of anyone else who has a different point of view.”