'I hope you are taping': New York Times releases audio to instantly debunk Trump's claim that the paper 'set up' Bob Corker

President Donald Trump began his morning by tweeting that The New York Times "set Liddle' Bob Corker up by recording his conversation."

But by Tuesday afternoon, The Times released audio of Corker explicitly asking for his bombshell interview to be recorded.

"I know they're recording it," Corker said of his aides who were also on the line with him and a Times reporter. "And I hope you are, too."

In that interview, which followed a scathing back-and-forth between Trump and Corker earlier in the day, Corker suggested that Trump's actions could prompt World War III and said he does not "know why the president tweets out things that are not true."

"You know he does it, everyone knows he does it, but he does," Corker added.

The Tennessee Republican, who recently announced he would not seek reelection in 2018, has become increasingly critical of the president in recent months. His recent criticism led to Trump tweeting Sunday that he denied the senator his endorsement and rejected him as a candidate for secretary of state, blaming Corker for passage of the Iran nuclear deal and adding that the senator "didn't have the guts" to run for reelection.

Corker fired back, saying Trump's claim was entirely false and that it was a "shame the White House has become an adult day care center."

"He concerns me," Corker told The Times. "He would have to concern anyone who cares about our nation."

"I don't think he appreciates that when the president of the United States speaks and says the things that he does, the impact that it has around the world, especially in the region that he's addressing," he added. "And so, yeah, it's concerning to me."