'Don't turn this into a drinking game': Nikki Haley attacks Ron DeSantis over his 'lies' at 5th GOP Debate

DES MOINES, IOWA: Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis tore into each other right off the bat at the fifth GOP presidential debate on January 10, as the race heats up ahead of the upcoming Republican caucus in Iowa.

The two touched upon a few key themes during their offensive against each other, as well as against the current Republican front-runner, former President Donald Trump, who again remained absent from the debate.

Nikki Haley portrays Ron DeSantis as a compulsive liar

During the battle of the two on-stage rivals, Haley made repeated mention of a fact-checking website that she and her team set up, to call out "a lot of Ron's lies."

The debate was opened by moderator Dana Bash, who asked both candidates to explain why each was a better choice than the other for voters who were looking for an alternative to Trump.

Haley, who was the second to speak, began by saying that it was time for Americans to look for a new generational leader.

"We have watched our country in disarray, we see the world on fire, and we need someone who has had executive experience. I've been a two-term governor that took a double-digit unemployment state and turned it into an economic powerhouse," she stated, referring to her stint as the Governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017.

She also noted that she was used to dealing with adversorial states like Russia, China and Iran on a daily basis while being a UN Ambassador.

"But you're gonna find out tonight that there is gonna be a lot of Ron's lies that have happened. There's at least a couple of dozens so far that he's done," Haley broached what was to be her primary offensive for the night.

"So what we're gonna do is rather than have him go and tell you all these lies, you can go on DeSantisLies.com and look… There's at least two dozen lies that he has told about me, and you can see where fact-checkers say exactly what's gonna happen, and exactly why it's wrong."

"So it will cover the fact that he's only mad about the donors because the donors used to be with him but they are no longer with him now. And that's because he's upset about the fact that his campaign is exploding," she continued, adding that DeSantis had "switched his policies multiple times."

She concluded her opening speech with a mock warning for the audience at Drake University, where the debate was being held, saying, "Every time DeSantis lies...don't turn this into a drinking game, because you will be overserved by the end of the night."

Nikki Haley made multiple mention of DeSantisLies.com throughout the debate

Haley was set on her offensive strategy, as she repeatedly tried to direct viewers to the URL during her time on stage.

According to NBC News, the website was registered just a week earlier and contains a list of issues that Haley's campaign claims DeSantis is lying about.

After referring to the website for the seventh time, she said, "It's a shame that we have to put up DeSantisLies.com, honestly. The reason he's blown through $150 million (of campaign funds) is because he's spent more time and money trying to lie about me than he has saying anything about himself."

At one point she even claimed, "Ron's lying because Ron's losing. You're so desperate. You're just so desperate."

Not everyone was thrilled with Haley harping on the same point throughout the debate, as the following meme posted in response to her tweet promoting the website suggests.