CLOSE Sen. Corker and President Trump continued their public spat, trading jabs over Twitter Tuesday morning. Corker called Trump an ‘utterly untruthful president’ and unleashed a new hashtag. Trump said the Republican senator "couldn't get elected dog cat video by Michael Schwab/Tennessean

Senator Bob Corker speaks during a 9/11 remembrance ceremony held at Nashville's War Memorial Plaza Sept. 11, 2016. (Photo: Alan Poizner)

President Donald Trump and Tennessee Senator Bob Corker traded punches on Twitter and television Tuesday morning, evoking dog catchers, tax reform and, once again, adult day care.

The battle escalated very quickly and on national television, with the president not only attacking Corker on social media but dispensing his press secretary to lambaste the Senator on FOX News.

Surrounded by a slew of reporters late Tuesday morning after hours of the back-and-forth began, Corker said he believes Trump is regressing as a president.

More: Donald Trump and Bob Corker continue public battle: A timeline of the escalating fight

"I have seen no evolution in an upward way. As a matter of fact, I would say it appears to me he's almost devolving," Corker said.

During the same interview, Corker said the president's own people reached out to have the senator stand up to Trump.

"I’ve had multiple occasions where the staff has asked me to intervene, (Trump) was getting ready to do something that was really off the tracks," Corker said.

A Corker spokeswoman confirmed the senator was referring to the president's staff but she couldn't immediately provide additional context about the occasions Corker referenced.

CLOSE President Donald Trump and Tennessee Senator Bob Corker traded Twitter punches Tuesday morning, evoking dog catchers, tax reform and, once again, adult day care. Angela Gosnell/News Sentinel

Another Corker bombshell came when the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, one of the most powerful Republicans and lawmakers in the country, said the president is dividing the country. Corker also told CNN he would "not do that again" when asked if he regretted supporting Trump in the election.

When asked if Trump is a role model to children in the United States, Corker said "absolutely not."

He later added: "I think at the end of the day, when his term is over. I think the debasing of our nation, the constant not truth telling, just the name calling, the things... I think the debasement of our nation will be what he'll be remembered most for and that's regretful."

The president responded to the CNN interview on Twitter, again referring to the senator as "liddle' Bob Corker" and suggesting he was incompetent as head of the Foreign Relations Committee.

Sen. Corker is the incompetent head of the Foreign Relations Committee, & look how poorly the U.S. has done. He doesn't have a clue as..... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 24, 2017

...the entire World WAS laughing and taking advantage of us. People like liddle' Bob Corker have set the U.S. way back. Now we move forward! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 24, 2017

The fight began as the Chattanooga Republican made the rounds on national television Tuesday morning, with Trump blasting Corker on Twitter for fighting tax reform. He added Corker "couldn't get elected dog catcher in Tennessee" and Corker chose not to seek re-election because Trump refused to endorse him.

More: Sen. Bob Corker's #AlertTheDaycareStaff tweet criticizing President Donald Trump sets Twitter on fire

Sen. Corker unleashes on Trump in stone cold interview w/@mkraju, “[Trump] has great difficulty with the truth..." https://t.co/VAhVkQqxwP — Ashley Codianni (@AshleyCodianni) October 24, 2017

Since he announced his Sept. 26 decision to not seek a third term, Corker has been substantially more vocal and direct with his criticism of the president. On Tuesday, he told reporters he's always been independent.

At about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Trump tweeted "Isn't it sad that lightweight Senator Bob Corker, who couldn't get re-elected in the Great State of Tennessee, will now fight Tax Cuts plus!"

Isn't it sad that lightweight Senator Bob Corker, who couldn't get re-elected in the Great State of Tennessee, will now fight Tax Cuts plus! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 24, 2017

Corker has vowed to oppose any tax plan that raises the deficit and says the president actually tried to convince him to seek a third term in the senator. In a Senate with 52 Republicans, the president can ill afford to lose any GOP votes on tax reform or any of his legislative priorities.

As recently as Thursday, when Senate Republicans narrowly approved a vote in favor of moving forward with passing the budget, Corker called it the "biggest hoax cast upon the American people ever that this budget process even exists."

Moments after Trump began tweeting Tuesday, Corker said it's clear the president is not interested in uniting the country.

"I guess like all Americans I would have hoped that he would rise to the occasion and bring out the best in our nation... And that has not happened. I’m beginning to believe it’s not going to happen," Corker said, speaking on CBS News.

"It appears to be the governing model of this White House to purposely divide, I mean that's what happened after the Virginia incident. It’s to consolidate base, not to bring people together and to bring out the better angels of those people in the country."

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Editorial: 'Liddle' guy with no guts? Corker should challenge Trump in 2020

The president's tweets came following Corker's appearance on NBC's The Today Show and other shows to discuss his criticism of the president, the GOP tax reform plan and the administration's efforts in Niger and North Korea.

But they are emblematic of a recent escalation in rhetoric from Trump and Corker. After exchanging Twitter barbs on Oct. 8, Corker left his most scathing comments for an interview with The New York Times, where he said Trump's threats aimed at other countries could set the U.S. “on the path to World War III.”

Bob Corker, who helped President O give us the bad Iran Deal & couldn't get elected dog catcher in Tennessee, is now fighting Tax Cuts.... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 24, 2017

...Corker dropped out of the race in Tennesse when I refused to endorse him, and now is only negative on anything Trump. Look at his record! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 24, 2017

After Trump's first tweet Tuesday, Corker responded on Twitter saying "Same untruths from an utterly untruthful president."

He also used the hashtag #AlertTheDaycareStaff, referencing a response on Oct. 8 to the president's tweets when Corker called the White House an adult day care center.

Same untruths from an utterly untruthful president. #AlertTheDaycareStaff — Senator Bob Corker (@SenBobCorker) October 24, 2017

At the same time, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders called Corker “ineffective.”

“This is a president who wants to be aggressive, wants to take big action. And if Sen. Corker doesn’t want to be part of that, I think that’s sad for his constituents. But we’re not going to let that get in the way of us moving forward,” Sanders said during an early morning interview on Fox and Friends.

The back-and-forth came hours before Trump and Corker came together in the same room. The president attended the weekly Senate Republican policy lunch at the U.S. Capitol but did not answer questions from the press.

Corker, who on Monday called the president's visit a "photo opp," according to NBC news, left the meeting Tuesday without answering reporter's shouted questions.

- USA Today contributed to this report.

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