White House chief of staff John Kelly plans to deny claims in an NBC report that he called President Trump an "idiot," a senior administration official told CNN on Monday.

The report claimed, among other things, that Kelly had said during an immigration-related meeting that he needed to "save (Trump) from himself" while insulting the President's intelligence.

But a senior administration official who was in the room for the immigration meeting said Kelly never called the President an idiot there, as the NBC report claimed.

"That's complete BS. I was in the room for that meeting," the official told CNN. "I don't know who's out for him, but that's crap."

The official said Kelly and Trump were meeting in the Oval Office when the story broke on TV and noted the two would likely discuss the report if they hadn't already.

The senior administration official said while Trump and his chief of staff have had disagreements, Kelly has never used that kind of language to criticize Trump.

"I don't think anybody is surprised that he and the President have had disagreements in the past," the official said.