Pete Buttigieg came under heavy attack on the Democratic presidential debate stage on Friday night, as the other contenders took aim at the former mayor of South Bend after his narrow victory in the Iowa caucuses.
Joe Biden, the former US vice-president who came a distant fourth in Iowa, said the 38-year-old Afghan war veteran was a “real patriot” but that his experience as the mayor of a city of 100,000 did not quality him to occupy the White House.
Amy Klobuchar, the Minnesota senator who came fifth in Iowa, joined the attacks, slamming Mr Buttigieg for always criticising Washington lawmakers and for his remarks in Iowa while she and the other two senators — Mr Sanders and Elizabeth Warren — were serving as jurors in the impeachment trial.
“You said it was exhausting to watch and that you wanted to turn the channel and watch cartoons,” Ms Klobuchar said. “Going after every single thing that people do because it's popular to say [and] makes you look like a cool newcomer. I don't think that's what people want right now. We have a newcomer in the White House, and look where it got us."
Mr Buttigieg repeated his recent attacks on Mr Biden as a status quo politician who was the wrong person to take on the “fundamentally new challenge” posed to the country by President Donald Trump.
“The biggest risk we could take at a time like this would be to go up against that fundamentally new challenge by trying to fall back on the familiar,” he said.
Mr Buttigieg also hit at Mr Sanders, the Vermont “socialist” senator, for pursuing an extreme approach that will alienate some Democrats when the party desperately needs to unite behind a candidate to defeat Mr Trump.
The former mayor had been expected to come under fire after his narrow victory in Iowa over Mr Sanders, which left other candidates scrambling to prevent being squeezed out of the top tier.
“For some of the folks on the stage, including vice-president Biden, this is probably their last chance to demonstrate that they deserve to still be in the race,” said Jim Manley, a Democratic strategist and former spokesperson for former Senate majority leader Harry Reid.
“Senator Sanders needs to try and knock Mayor Pete, who has got momentum right now, out of the race while he can,” Mr Manley added. “So I think this one is going to get kinda ugly.”
Earlier on Friday Mr Sanders criticised Mr Buttigieg’s campaign for taking donations from billionaires. “I like Pete Buttigieg. Nice guy,” the US senator said. “But we are in a moment where the billionaires control not only our economy but our political ideas.”
Ahead of Tuesday’s primary, Mr Sanders was leading in New Hampshire with 27 per cent, followed by Mr Buttigieg on 22 per cent, according to an average of recent polls compiled by Real Clear Politics. But the 38-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has surged since Iowa and in one post-caucus poll he was just one point behind the Vermont politician who is four decades his senior.
The debate could prove critical for some of the candidates who are struggling after Iowa, including Ms Klobuchar. Ms Warren, the senator from Massachusetts, needs to make a stronger case that she is a better choice than Mr Sanders, her rival progressive in the race.
Andrew Yang, the entrepreneur who has surprised many with his campaign’s resilience, rounded out the seven-person debate stage with Tom Steyer, a billionaire financier turned environmental activist.
Tulsi Gabbard, a Hawaii congresswoman and army veteran, is seventh in the polls in New Hampshire, but did not clear the polling and donor threshold to make the debate stage.
Follow Demetri Sevastopulo on Twitter: @dimi
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Gloves come off as Democrats debate in New Hampshire - Financial Times
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