- Donald Trump appeared on his former fixer-turned-arch-nemesis Michael Cohen's radio show on Thursday, in a remarkable reunion with the man who once called him a Cheeto-dusted cartoon villain and testified against him both in court and before Congress.
- The interview, part of which aired on Cohen’s 77 WABC radio programme Thursday evening and will air in full Sunday, was an amicable affair, with only passing reference to the men’s tumultuous history.
- During the interview, Trump told Cohen, ‘They weaponised you like nobody's ever been weaponised, like few have been,’ and added, ‘I respect the fact that you recanted everything you said. That’s a big thing that you did.’
- Cohen once boasted that he would ‘take a bullet’ for the president and was by Mr Trump’s side during his political rise, but after their public breakup, Cohen’s testimony in Mr Trump’s 2024 criminal hush-money trial helped secure Mr Trump’s criminal conviction.
- Cohen facilitated the hush-money payment, which he was later jailed for, that led to Mr Trump becoming the first former president to be convicted of a crime.
- Cohen said he had resubmitted a pardon application to the White House that had been denied by the previous administration, but had yet to receive any response and planned to follow up Friday.
- The truce with Cohen makes him the latest in a long line of Trump loyalists who have had public falling-outs with the president but found themselves back in his good graces.
- Cohen said he and the president had had multiple conversations over the past year and introduced the interview by explaining his decision to move on, saying, ‘Forgiveness does not mean amnesia... It is about having the courage to decide that yesterday will no longer dictate tomorrow.’
Donald Trump made a surprising appearance on Michael Cohen's radio show, marking a significant reunion with his former fixer turned adversary. The interview, which aired partially on Thursday and will be fully broadcast on Sunday, was described as amicable, with only brief mentions of their contentious past.
During the show, Trump acknowledged Cohen's past struggles, stating, “They weaponised you like nobody’s ever been weaponised, like few have been,” and expressed respect for Cohen's decision to recant his previous statements. This reunion comes after Cohen's testimony contributed to Trump's criminal conviction in a hush-money case, making Trump the first former president to be convicted of a crime.
Cohen, who once claimed he would “take a bullet” for Trump, has had a complicated relationship with the former president, oscillating between loyalty and betrayal. In a pre-interview discussion with CNN, Cohen revealed he had resubmitted a pardon application to the White House, which had been denied previously, and planned to follow up on it.7
Cohen emphasized the importance of moving forward, stating, “Forgiveness does not mean amnesia... It is about having the courage to decide that yesterday will no longer dictate tomorrow.” This reconciliation adds Cohen to a list of former Trump loyalists who have publicly fallen out with him but later returned to his favor.
“Cohen said he resubmitted a pardon application to the White House that was denied by the previous administration, and plans to follow up Friday. Trump told Cohen, 'They weaponised you like nobody's ever been weaponised,' and praised him for recanting his testimony.”
