Fox News has fired back at Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for his refusal to participate in their debate on Thursday night.
The network said in a statement that Mr Trump's decision is "unprecedented" and rooted in his dislike for one of the debate hosts, Megyn Kelly.
Mr Trump clashed with Ms Kelly at a Fox News debate last year and had demanded she be removed from Thursday's panel.
His decision to pull out has been mocked by his Republican rivals.
The debate is the final one before the first real test of the election campaign, the Iowa caucus on Monday when voters in the state pick their presidential nominee.
"Capitulating to politicians' ultimatums about a debate moderator violates all journalistic standards, as do threats," the Fox News network said in a statement.
"We're not sure how Iowans are going to feel about him walking away from them at the last minute, but it should be clear to the American public by now that this is rooted in one thing - Megyn Kelly."
Fox accused Mr Trump of "viciously attacking" Ms Kelly, threatening her and spending four days trying to get her removed.
Republican presidential candidate Senator Ted Cruz mocked Mr Trump for his announcement.
He challenged him to a one-on-one debate and taunted him on Twitter using the hashtag #DuckingDonald.
Mr Trump, who leads the Republican field, quit the debate on Tuesday night after Fox put out a taunting statement that questioned his ability to deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Reactions from the political class:
1. MSNBC host and former Republican US representative Joe Scarborough said voters are seeing the billionaire at his "very best" and that Fox "made Trump look like the grown-up".
2. At the same network, Chris Matthews questioned "who's gonna watch the debate between the two Cuban guys?"
3. Republican political consultant Alex Castellanos said it showed that "Trump is playing on different level than the other candidates" and demonstrates "he is willing to take risks"
4. Republican political strategist Jeff Lord said Mr Trump's decision was similar to Ronald Reagan's decision to walk "away from the negotiating table with Gorbachev at Reykjavik"
5. Political journalist Mark Halperin criticised Fox for taunting Mr Trump and said the businessman would win by dominating the news cycle.
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