DeSantis accuses Haley of being scared to debate; planned ABC News-WMUR New Hampshire GOP primary debate scrapped

Nikki Haley has indicated that she does not plan to do any more debates unless she gets to face former President Donald Trump or President Joe Biden.

"We've had five great debates in this campaign. Unfortunately, Donald Trump has ducked all of them. He has nowhere left to hide. The next debate I do will either be with Donald Trump or with Joe Biden. I look forward to it," Haley tweeted.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis accused her of being "afraid to debate."

"Nikki Haley is afraid to debate because she doesn't want to answer the tough questions such as how she got rich off Boeing after giving them millions in taxpayer handouts as governor of South Carolina. The reality is that she is not running for the nomination, she’s running to be Trump's VP," DeSantis tweeted. "I won't snub New Hampshire voters like both Nikki Haley and Donald Trump, and plan to honor my commitments. I look forward to debating two empty podiums in the Granite State this week."

An ABC News/WMUR-TV Republican presidential primary debate that had been scheduled to occur in New Hampshire later this week will not take place.

"Our intent was to host a debate coming out of the Iowa caucuses, but we always knew that would be contingent on the candidates and the outcome of the race," an ABC News spokesperson said in a statement, according to ABC News. "As a result, while our robust election coverage will continue, ABC News and WMUR-TV will not be moving forward with Thursday’s Republican presidential primary debate in New Hampshire." WMUR described the comments as a joint statement released by ABC News and WMUR.

Haley and DeSantis faced off during a one-on-one CNN debate in Des Moines, Iowa, last week. Last year, DeSantis and Haley were among the candidates who competed in four Republican National Committee-affiliated GOP presidential primary debates. But Trump, who has not attended any of the debates, crushed the rest of the field during the Iowa Republican presidential caucuses on Monday.

While DeSantis has accepted CNN's invitation to participate in a January 21 GOP presidential primary debate in New Hampshire, he appears to be the only eligible candidate planning to participate in the event.

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