President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE early Thursday lashed out at CNN following a report that said he threatened to sue his campaign manager after seeing internal poll numbers that showed him trailing presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden Joe BidenBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Democratic groups using Bloomberg money to launch M in Spanish language ads in Florida Harris faces pivotal moment with Supreme Court battle MORE.

In a tweet sent just after midnight, Trump blasted the news network as "fake news" and claimed that he never upbraided his campaign manager, Brad Parscale Bradley (Brad) James ParscaleMORE.

"Just told that Fake News @CNN is falsely reporting that I was recently shouting at my campaign manager over made up nonsense," Trump, who regularly attacks CNN, said. "Actually, he is doing a great job, I never shouted at him ... and have no intention to do so."

Just told that Fake News @CNN is falsely reporting that I was recently shouting at my campaign manager over made up nonsense. Actually, he is doing a great job, I never shouted at him (been with me for years, including the 2016 win), & have no intention to do so. Just FAKE NEWS! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 30, 2020

Trump reportedly lashed out at Parscale during a meeting last Friday, just two days after he and several other top political advisers briefed the president on internal campaign data. The polls they showed Trump indicated that he would lose several key battleground states in the 2020 election, according to CNN and The New York Times.

ADVERTISEMENT

Pointing to the data, some of Trump's advisers reportedly urged the president to scale back his daily briefings amid the coronavirus outbreak, arguing that they weren't helping his cause.

Trump berated Parscale over the poll numbers and even threatened to sue him at one point, CNN reported, though it is unclear how serious the president's threat was. Two sources familiar with the meeting told CNN that Trump and Parscale resolved the dispute later that night.

But Parscale reportedly traveled to Washington, D.C., earlier this week to meet with the president. He spent several hours talking reelection strategy with Trump and received approval on a series of new advertisements that knock Biden, CNN noted.

ADVERTISEMENT

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus has upended the 2020 presidential campaign, placing an indefinite pause on in-person campaigning. In recent weeks, numerous polls have shown Biden with leads over the president.

One survey last week showed Biden with an 8-point lead over the president, despite Trump's approval rating matching an all-time high. Biden also leads Trump by 8 points in Michigan, a state that the president won in 2016, according to a Fox News survey.

Trump has repeatedly dismissed the significance of polls that show unfavorable results for the president. He told Reuters in an interview Wednesday that he does not believe them.