New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman said her report on the possibility that Michael Cohen could flip on President Trump Donald John TrumpOmar fires back at Trump over rally remarks: 'This is my country' Pelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare Trump mocks Biden appearance, mask use ahead of first debate MORE is "hitting a nerve" with the president given his tweet on the topic.

“I think he and his lawyers are very anxious about the Southern District investigation into Michael Cohen. That is more of an imminent threat than the Robert Mueller Robert (Bob) MuellerCNN's Toobin warns McCabe is in 'perilous condition' with emboldened Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while evoking Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting The Hill's 12:30 Report: New Hampshire fallout MORE special counsel probe is,” Haberman said on CNN's "New Day" of the probe into Trump's longtime personal lawyer and fixer.

Haberman, who has interviewed Trump several times but whom the president referred to as "third rate" in his tweet, added that her report wasn’t about “destroying” the relationship between Cohen and Trump.

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“The president has destroyed their relationship pretty handily on his own over a very long time, and that is what the story is about,” she said. “Which is that he is abusive … to most people in his organization and that family is not excepted.”

“But he is particularly abusive to Cohen over the years, and the question is, does that come back to haunt him?” she added.

Trump had lashed out over Haberman-authored Times story reporting that the president’s legal team is preparing for Cohen to cooperate with prosecutors.

The New York Times and a third rate reporter named Maggie Haberman, known as a Crooked H flunkie who I don’t speak to and have nothing to do with, are going out of their way to destroy Michael Cohen and his relationship with me in the hope that he will “flip.” They use.... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 21, 2018

....it means lying or making up stories. Sorry, I don’t see Michael doing that despite the horrible Witch Hunt and the dishonest media! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 21, 2018

Haberman's report quotes aides on and off the record saying that Trump takes Cohen for granted.

Cohen is reportedly under investigation for bank fraud and violating campaign finance law.

Haberman, in discussing the potential danger to Trump, said on CNN that prosecutors could place Cohen in a situation where it’s “his life before the president’s life.”