$2M was mentioned as the max offer for these types of deals (read: acquihire). They didn't have to get to the point of making an offer; he rejected that maximum.
mentioning $2M as a cap for acquihires was not an offer for an acquihire and was definitely not an acquihire offer for $2M. if you come back and say $2M seems nice, you just fell for a nasty trick.
Correct. However the point still stands that he considered $2M insultingly low. Not because he felt it was fake, but because even if it were a real offer it wasn't enough.