Trump Joins Cohen for Phone Interview Amid Ongoing Legal Battles
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Trump on Thursday joined Cohen, who has testified against him in Congress and in court, for an interview on Cohen’s radio show. The appearance, via phone, marked a new chapter in the pair’s fraught relationship after years of feuding that included Cohen’s serving as a star witness in two trials targeting Trump and congressional testimony in which he called his former boss a “racist, a con man and a cheat.”
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Washington ExaminerIn a much-anticipated radio interview, Trump and Cohen reunited after years of turmoil. Their relationship started as a closely allied lawyer-client relationship and turned into a feud where Cohen testified against the president. Prosecutors hailed Cohen as a key witness in People of the State of New York v. Trump, which led to Trump being found guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to hush money payments.
The Guardian USCohen once had such a tight relationship with the US president that he described himself back in the day as his “attack dog with a law license”, but later became the star witness in Trump’s 2024 criminal trial over his hush-money payments to the adult film star Stormy Daniels. Trump was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records in an effort to interfere with the 2016 election.
Associated PressCohen has since criticized prosecutors in the case and has said he and Trump have started to reconcile.
New York PostCohen began returning to Trump’s good graces as he aligned with the president’s claims that he was subjected to a Democratic “witch hunt.”
USA TodayIt marks another remarkable turn in a decades-long relationship that imploded in spectacular fashion after Trump's 2016 presidential win. Cohen was one of Trump's closest aides before denouncing him and testifying against him.
The HillTrump, Cohen set aside beef in radio interview President Trump and his fixer-turned-enemy Michael Cohen have seemingly turned over a new leaf, with the president saying he respects that Cohen took back things he’s said. Portions of the interview played on Cohen’s radio show on 77 WABC radio in New York City Thursday. The rest is expected to air on Sunday. Cohen was…
PBS NewsHourMichael Cohen, Trump's former fixer-turned-enemy, is hosting the president on his radio show President Donald Trump is expected to make a public reunion with the man who once called him a "Cheeto-dusted cartoon villain" and testified against him both in court and before Congress.
PoliticoMichael Cohen won’t say if he’ll use his Trump interview to seek a pardon The president is expected to call into Cohen’s radio show Thursday in their first public conversation since a very public falling out.
ReutersTrump, former fixer Michael Cohen have warm interview at political low point for president - Reuters Trump, former fixer Michael Cohen have warm interview at political low point for president Reuters
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“Loyalty doesn’t mean pretending someone never hurt you. Forgiveness doesn’t mean surrendering your principles. Reconciliation doesn’t mean rewriting history,” Cohen added. “It means deciding that your history doesn’t have to end with your worst chapter.”
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NBC News“The good memories don’t cease to exist simply because terrible ones followed them,” Cohen said. “True loyalty doesn’t mean pretending that you were never hurt. Reconciliation doesn’t mean surrendering your principles or rewriting facts. It simply means deciding that your story doesn’t have to end in its worst chapter.”
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In the friendly interview, Trump said New York Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan prosecutor Alvin Bragg weaponized the justice system against Cohen.
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The Guardian USIn an episode of Cohen’s podcast in 2023, he thanked the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, for bringing charges against Trump. “I truly fucking hope that this man ends up in prison,” Cohen said. He said that it would not bring back the time he spent in prison, but added: “You better believe I want this man to go down and rot inside for what he did to my family.”
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Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 New York Post “Maybe what we should do is then have a press conference and literally put out all of the accomplishments,” Cohen suggested to Trump, whom he spent years accusing of being a “racist,” a “predator” and a “fraud” after pleading guilty and implicating Trump in wrongdoing in 2018.
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02 NBC News During the show, Cohen struck a different tone, quoting a Bible verse about forgiveness, playing the song “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” and largely avoiding mention of their previous clashes.
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03 USA Today Trump's longtime attorney testified against his former boss in court but is now publicly reconciling with him.
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04 Washington Examiner “Tish James and Alvin Bragg, what they did to you, and they used you, and what you did was actually a brave thing, because you said what they did was wrong,” Trump said to Cohen. “You agreed that your testimony — they forced you to say things that you didn’t want to say. They forced you to say things that were false because they have a threat with jail and every other thing.”
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05 The Guardian US “Our next guest is a ‘racist’, a ‘conman’ and a ‘cheat’ – someone who behaves more like a ‘mobster’ than a president. Please welcome Donald J Trump!”
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06 Associated Press The apparent 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. Other recent examples include Elon Musk and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
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