CNN staff have reportedly been left 'embarrassed' after Chris Cuomo was filmed clapping back at a man who called him 'Fredo'.

The channel's anchor was caught on camera in a confrontation with the man on Sunday, who insists he thought it was the journalist's name.

Cuomo took it as an anti-Italian insult and threatened to throw the man down a flight of stairs as he berated him in vulgar language while a cellphone camera captured the scene.

Fredo Corleone was the dimwitted and disloyal older brother of Michael, the central character in 'The Godfather.'

Chris Cuomo (in the hat on the left) is filmed on amateur video berating a man who referred to him as 'Fredo' in a bar on New York's Shelter Island on Sunday

According to Page Six , staff at CNN have called the incident 'embarrassing'

Fredo is a reference to Fredo Corleone, the fictional character from Mario Puzo's The Godfather. He was played by the late actor John Cazale (seen far right). Fellow cast members include, from left to right: James Caan, Marlon Brando, and Al Pacino

After the video emerged, CNN responded in support of their star TV anchor, saying in a statement: 'Chris Cuomo defended himself when he was verbally attacked with the use of an ethnic slur in an orchestrated setup. We completely support him.'

But according to Page Six, staff at CNN have called the incident 'embarrassing'.

One insider said: 'It was an unforced error, and he gave the right — and the president — ammunition to use against him and CNN.'

Trump's re-election campaign pounced on the video scandal, and even introduced a t-shirt for sale on Tuesday that mocks the CNN anchor.

The t-shirt, available for $34.00, carries the words 'FREDO UNHINGED' and still images from the video.

The Trump re-election campaign began selling 'FREDO UNHINGED' t-shirts on Tuesday, quicklty taking advantage of an ambarrassing meltdown by CNN anchor Chris Cuomo that was caught on camera

The president has seemingly sat back and waited for years for an opportunity to clobber Cuomo, who is among CNN's most reliably anti-Trump personalities

'CNN’s Chris Cuomo is Fredo!' the campaign website's product page reads.

'The truth hurts. He totally lost it. Help us annoy Chris Cuomo and buy your "Fredo Unhinged Tee" now!'

Trump initially weighed in on the incident on Twitter, saying: 'I thought Chris was Fredo also. The truth hurts. Totally lost it! Low ratings @CNN.'

Cuomo, a consistently anti-Trump television personality, protests in the video footage that 'Fredo' is an insult, 'like the N-word for Italians.'

Video has since emerged of two paid CNN contributors calling Republicans, including Donald Trump Jr., 'Fredo.' One did it on Cuomo's show as he sat without objection.

President Donald Trump told reporters in New Jersey that CNN anchor Chris Cuomo 'looked like a total out-of-control animal' when he started an altercation with a man in New York

Cuomo backed off from his aggression on Tuesday morning but stopped short of apologizing, instead assuming the role of victim

CNN is the television network the president most loves to hate. Its ratings have skidded since Trump became president, even as the more liberal MSNBC has seen its fortunes soar as a home for his most liberal opponents.

Cuomo portrayed himself as a victim, tweeting that he should have been calmer in his self-defense.

'I should be better than the guys baiting me,' he wrote. 'This happens all the time these days. Often in front of my family. But there is a lesson: no need to add to the ugliness; I should be better than what I oppose.'

Cuomo did not say his children or other family members were present during the altercation.