Pete Buttigieg accuses Bernie Sanders of adding to 'toxic tone of our politics'

Former South Bend mayor came joint first in Iowa and second in New Hampshire

Pete Buttigieg has launched a stern attack on Bernie Sanders, suggesting he will not be able to defeat Donald Trump, and accusing his campaign of adding to the “toxic tone of our politics”.

In a speech to supporters in Las Vegas, as projections suggested the former South Bend mayor was set to become third in the Nevada caucus, behind Mr Sanders and Joe Biden, he claimed his campaign offered a real difference to that of the senator from Vermont.

“I congratulate senator Sanders on a strong showing today. But before we rush to nominate senator Sanders let us take a sober look at what is at stake.”

Mr Buttigieg, a centrist who is in the perhaps unprecedented position of facing an uphill battle to stay in the race despite coming joint first in Iowa and a close second in New Hampshire, has claimed his vision for America can win over more Americans that those of his rivals.

He said the ideas of Mr Sanders, a democratic socialist whose politics have little changed over more than 40 years in public life, would “reorder the economy in ways most Democrats – let alone most Americans – don’t support”.

He said his campaign offered a genuine alternative and “a real difference from senator Sanders’s revolution, which has the tenor of combat, division and polarisation, a vision for the future where whoever wins the day, nothing changes the toxic tone of our politics”.

He added: “I believe the only way to truly deliver any of the progressive changes we care about is to be a nominee who actually gives a damn about the effect you are having, from the top of the ticket, on those crucial, front-line House and Senate Democrats running to win, who we need to win, to make sure our agenda is more than just words on a page.”

Now heading to South Carolina where he must hope to deliver a performance better than polls there suggest he will, he said Democrats should “take a sober look at the consequences” of making Mr Sanders the party’s nominee.

Mr Buttigieg said Mr Sanders had a “vision of capitalism as the root of all evil”.

Additional reporting by agencies