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A month after that comment, however, Corker joined Trump and retired NFL star Peyton Manning for a round of golf, suggesting that their friendship had weathered that gray cloud.

The low point in the relationship came during an interview with the New York Times in October, in which Corker said Trump was leading the nation “on the path to World War III.”

This set off a Twitter feud between the two men, with Trump saying Corker decided to retire because he wouldn’t endorse his re-election and calling him “Liddle Bob Corker,” and with Corker responding by calling the White House “an adult day care center.”

Trump also tweeted that Corker “gave us the Iran Deal, & that’s about it,” referencing the July 2015 international agreement with Iran over its nuclear capabilities that Trump clearly meant as an insult. Corker, a key voice on foreign policy as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, opposed the deal itself and co-sponsored a successful bill that strengthened congressional oversight of the deal, far from what Trump accused him of doing.

Despite their personal animus, which sometimes played out in public and included policy-related barbs, Corker insists he has maintained a close relationship with the president and other White House officials -- pointing, in fact, to his behind-the-scenes assistance on Iran.

“We have been asked to help them resolve this Iran issue and we’ve been working with them for nine months on that. We never stopped on that,” he told ABC last week.

Corker had raised eyebrows that week when he traveled with Trump on Air Force One to Tennessee to watch the college football championship game, which prompted a new round of are-they-or-aren’t-they questions from political observers.

The Tennessee Republican insisted the chattering class was reading too much into the plane ride as an indication of whether his on-again, off-again friendship with Trump was back on.

\"You all act like this is the first time we've hung around,” he said.

Like Graham, Corker said his priority is serving his country.

\"I’ve got a job to do,” he added. “I’m the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, people in our state expect me to do my job and around the country, and I continue to do it, as have they.\"

This story is part of a weeklong series examining the first year of the Trump administration.

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