For a brief moment, the second Republican presidential debate devolved into a spat over curtains between the two dignitaries from South Carolina.

Baited into the back-and-forth by a moderator over who is better prepared to be president, Sen. Tim Scott said former Gov. Nikki Haley supported a gas tax hike and welcomed $50,000 curtains inside her office when she served as U.S. ambassador to the U.N.

“Yout got bad information,” Ms. Haley snapped in response.

Mr. Scott countered, “All you have to do is go watch Nikki Haley on YouTube.”

The back-and-forth started in a more ho-hum fashion with Mr. Scott turning to Ms. Haley to inform her he wants to address the federal deficit and debt with a balanced budget amendment.

Mr. Scott said he has a plan to unleash the nation’s energy resources to build jobs and grow the economy.

Ms. Haley responded, initially with pleasantries, and then with a hammer, insisting Mr. Scott has little to show from his time in Congress.

“Twelve years. Where have you been?” Ms. Haley said. “Where have you been, Tim?”

Things escalated from there with Mr. Scott criticizing Ms. Haley about the gas tax and saying, “She has never seen a federal dollar she doesn’t like.”

When Mr. Scott started turning his attention toward her time at the U.N., Ms. Haley smiled and said, “Bring it, Tim.”

• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.