Democratic debate: Buttigieg under fire over experience and fundraising – as it happened

That’s it from me tonight. Here are some of the biggest moments from the sixth Democratic presidential debate:

• Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg clashed over fundraising practices, as Warren accused Buttigieg of being in the pocket of big-dollar donors. “Billionaires in wine caves should not pick the next president of the United States,” Warren said, referring to Buttigieg’s recent fundraiser at a wine cellar in Napa valley.
• Amy Klobuchar also criticized Buttigieg for his relative lack of experience, so the Indiana mayor who has surged to the top of the polls in Iowa took incoming fire from multiple sides.
• The debate on the whole was more contentious than the other recent match-ups, with candidates likely feeling pressure to capture viewers’ attention less than two months before voters start heading to the polls.
• The candidates defended the House’s decision yesterday to impeach Trump, arguing the president’s “corrupt” actions had made the vote necessary.
• A gender divide emerged on the final debate question, when candidates were asked whether they wanted to seek forgiveness for something or offer a gift. All the male candidates chose to offer a gift, while the two women on stage – Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar – sought forgiveness for getting “worked up” talking about important issues.
  
• Sarah Sanders, Trump’s former press secretary, sent a tweet mocking Joe Biden for his history of stuttering. The former vice president said during the debate that children have approached him while on the campaign trail asking for help with speaking, imitating his own past stutter. Sanders later apologized and deleted the tweet.

Thanks for following the Guardian’s live coverage, and tune in next month when the blog covers the seventh debate in Des Moines, Iowa.

Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, interestingly defended Pete Buttigieg for hosting a fundraiser at a wine cellar in Napa Valley.

Newsom, who endorsed Kamala Harris’ White House bid before she dropped out of the race, grew a multimillion business from a wine shop he started in San Francisco.

The homepages of three major US newspapers are currently highlighting the contentious nature of tonight’s debate, specifically noting candidates’ attacks on Pete Buttigieg.

Here are the current homepage headlines:

• New York Times: “Democratic Candidates Go on the Attack, and Buttigieg Is the Target.”
• Wall Street Journal: “Pete Buttigieg, Strong in Iowa, Comes Under Attack From Democratic Rivals.”
• Washington Post: “Candidates spar on donors, health care, political experience.”

Joe Biden is receiving some praise for his debate performance. From a conservative blogger:

But commentators were quick to note Biden had the advantage of lowered expectations, considering his less-than-stellar performances at past debates.

“It wasn’t flawless, but he kept things on the rails, had flashes of good humor, and was deft with tough moments he could see approaching, including about his age,” Aaron Blakes writes for the Washington Post.

Amy Klobuchar continued her attacks on Pete Buttigieg’s experience level after leaving the debate stage, arguing a woman with his resume would not be in the same favorable polling position that he is.

The final count is in, and Bernie Sanders spoke more than any other candidate on the debate stage, followed closely by Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren.

But despite the smaller debate stage, there were still large differences in candidates’ speaking times. For example, Sanders spoke nearly twice as much as Andrew Yang.

Pete Buttigieg was asked about the gender divide on the final debate question, when candidates were asked whether they wanted to ask for forgiveness for something or offer a gift.

All of the male candidates chose to offer a gift, while the two women on stage – Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar – asked for forgiveness for getting “worked up” talking about important issues.

“No woman should ever have to apologize for being fired up,” Buttigieg said. The Indiana mayor noted male candidates would likely be questioned if they did not get “worked up” talking about the issues, calling the double standard “one of the many effects of sexism in our politics”.

Sarah Sanders, Trump’s former press secretary, has deleted her tweet mocking Joe Biden for stuttering, claiming she did not know of his history with the condition.

After Sarah Sanders, Trump’s former press secretary, mocked Joe Biden for his history of stuttering, this video from August started recirculating on Twitter.

Biden’s history of stuttering came up during the debate because he was talking about the children who approach him while on the campaign trail and ask for his help because they also have the condition.

In the Los Angeles spin room, surrogates for Bernie Sanders are wearing shirts that read PetesWineCave.com.

The website, which refers to Pete Buttigieg’s recent fundraiser at a wine cellar in Napa Valley, redirects to a donations page for Sanders’ campaign.

Buttigieg sparred with Elizabeth Warren tonight over his fundraising practices. “Billionaires in wine caves should not pick the next president of the United States,” Warren said.

Many debate viewers noted the gender divide that emerged as candidates answered the final debate question.

PBS Newshour’s Judy Woodruff asked the candidates whether they wanted to ask their opponents for forgiveness for anything or offer them a gift.

Both of the women on stage – Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar – asked for forgiveness for getting too “worked up” about important issues, while the men offered gifts ranging from the books they’ve written to their entire candidacies.

This gender split did not go unnoticed by Twitter commentators, many of whom argued it reflected the double standards that women are held to in the race.

Joe Biden has reacted to Sarah Sanders mocking his history of stuttering, suggesting Trump’s former press secretary should look up the definition of empathy.

Sarah Sanders, Trump’s former press secretary, dubiously argued her tweet about Joe Biden, which begins “I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I hhhave,” was not meant to make fun of his stuttering.

In light of Sarah Sanders’ cruel tweet about Joe Biden’s history with stuttering, it’s worth revisiting this recent Atlantic story on the topic.

The magazine’s John Hendrickson, who also struggled with stuttering, writes:

Maybe you’ve heard Biden talk about his boyhood stutter. A non-stutterer might not notice when he appears to get caught on words as an adult, because he usually maneuvers out of those moments quickly and expertly. But on other occasions, like that night in Detroit, Biden’s lingering stutter is hard to miss. He stutters—­if slightly—on several sounds as we sit across from each other in his office. Before addressing the debate specifically, I mention what I’ve just heard. ‘I want to ask you, as, you know, a … stutterer to, uh, to a … stutterer. When you were … talking a couple minutes ago, it, it seemed to … my ear, my eye … did you have … trouble on s? Or on … m?’

Biden looks down. He pivots to the distant past, telling me that the letter s was hard when he was a kid. ‘But, you know, I haven’t stuttered in so long that it’s hhhhard for me to remember the specific—’ He pauses. ‘What I do remember is the feeling.’

The sixth Democratic debate has concluded, but the Guardian team will have more analysis coming up.

Candidates are still delivering their closing statements, but much of the conversation on Twitter has turned to this shocking tweet from Trump’s former press secretary, Sarah Sanders.

The tweet is a reference to Joe Biden’s answer moments ago about meeting children who struggle with stuttering, which he also suffered from when he was young.

Biden demonstrated what a stutter sounds like to emphasize his point, prompting this cruel joke from Trump’s former adviser.

Biden’s rapid response director quickly reacted to Sanders’ tweet:

The debate has moved on to closing statements, and each candidate will get 60 seconds to deliver final remarks.

Tom Steyer pledged to “break the corporate stranglehold” and tackle climate change as president.

Andrew Yang opened his closing statement with a joke about his outsider status. “I know what you’re thinking, America: How am I still on this stage with them?”