President Trump continues pummeling Jeff Sessions, but this time he punches back

Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired back at President Donald Trump over the latest personal insult aimed at supporting his competitor in the Republican primary for a U.S. Senate seat.

The president endorsed former college football coach Tommy Tuberville over his old attorney general and has openly berated Sessions for recusing him in the Department of Justice investigation into Russian election interference.

"3 years ago, after Jeff Sessions recused himself, the Fraudulent Mueller Scam began. Alabama, do not trust Jeff Sessions. He let our Country down. That's why I endorsed Coach Tommy Tuberville (@TTuberville), the true supporter of our #MAGA agenda!" the president tweeted on Friday.

While Sessions has faced the slings and arrows of public insults from the president in the past with nary a word of protest, he finally issued a response in his defense.

"Look, I know your anger, but recusal was required by law. I did my duty & you're damn fortunate I did. It protected the rule of law & resulted in your exoneration. Your personal feelings don't dictate who Alabama picks as their senator, the people of Alabama do," said Sessions in his own tweet.

Sessions went after Trump's favored candidate in a second tweet.

"Tuberville's a coward who is rightly too afraid to debate me. He says you're wrong on China & trade. He wants to bring in even more foreign workers to take American jobs. That's not your agenda and it's not mine or Alabama's. I know Alabama. Tuberville doesn't," he added.

Sessions' response might be his last gasp in the runoff competition for the Republican nomination on July 14. In a poll published on Thursday, he fell far short of the commanding 24% point lead by Tuberville.

Here's more about the race for Alabama's U.S. Senate seat:

Alabama Senate Race: The latest in Sessions and Tuberville campaignswww.youtube.com