WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump is set to make a public appearance on the radio show of his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, on Thursday. This reunion is particularly noteworthy given the complex history between the two, especially since Cohen has often criticized Trump, even referring to him as a “Cheeto-dusted cartoon villain.” Cohen previously testified against Trump in both court and Congress.
Cohen, who served time in prison for his involvement in covering up Trump’s questionable activities, confirmed that Trump will be featured in a taped interview on his 77 WABC radio program. This interview is scheduled to air on Thursday evening and again on Sunday.
In a pre-interview discussion with CNN, Cohen hinted that the talk would be a “doozy,” but he chose not to revisit his past criticisms of Trump. “I refuse to be pulled back into yesterday’s news and yesterday’s headline,” Cohen remarked. He explained that their reconciliation stemmed from forgiveness, stating, “To the many people asking, ‘How is this possible?’ the answer is that we forgave.”
This newfound camaraderie with Cohen is part of a broader pattern for Trump, who has a history of mending fences with former allies after public disputes. Other prominent figures like Elon Musk and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis have also experienced similar reconciliations with Trump.
The split between Trump and Cohen was particularly personal. Cohen had once expressed unwavering loyalty, claiming he would “take a bullet” for Trump. However, after their fallout, Cohen’s testimony in Trump’s hush-money trial was instrumental in leading to Trump’s criminal conviction, which was a setback for Trump as he sought to stage a political comeback.
Despite their rocky past, Cohen has recently voiced his discontent with prosecutors involved in the case and indicated that he and Trump have started to mend their relationship. The White House has not commented on Cohen’s remarks or confirmed Trump’s radio appearance, although Trump’s official schedule did indicate a taping on Thursday morning.
In a promotional post for the interview, Cohen reflected on their 15-year friendship, acknowledging that while their relationship turned into a “political blood sport,” the good times they shared cannot be erased by the bad ones. “The good times don’t cease to have existed because the bad times came afterward,” he wrote, adding simply, “We forgave.”
While Trump has not issued any warm public statements about Cohen recently, he has shared social media posts that echo some of Cohen’s criticisms, particularly those concerning perceived pressure from prosecutors to testify against Trump.
In 2024, Cohen emerged as a crucial witness in Trump’s hush-money trial, which resulted in a 34-count felony conviction against Trump. During his testimony, Cohen placed Trump at the center of efforts to quiet allegations from an adult film star and a former Playboy model regarding their encounters with Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Cohen detailed how Trump had promised to reimburse him for payments made to silence these allegations and asserted that he was acting “at the direction of and benefit of Mr. Trump.” This testimony marked a significant shift in their once-close relationship, which began to fracture dramatically in 2018 when the FBI searched Cohen’s office and home.
Cohen ultimately pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about a Trump Tower project in Russia and to campaign finance violations, which implicated Trump in hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen MacDougal. He was sentenced to three years in prison.
However, since his testimony, Cohen’s narrative has shifted as he has reclaimed a more amicable stance toward Trump, arguing that he felt coerced into providing information damaging to Trump. In a January Substack post, he stated, “I felt pressured and coerced to only provide information and testimony that would satisfy the government’s desire to build the cases against and secure a judgment and convictions against President Trump.”
During his 2019 congressional testimony, Cohen alleged that Trump had a pattern of inflating asset values for favorable loans and tax benefits. He reiterated similar claims in a 2023 civil fraud trial, which found Trump and his companies guilty of fraud. A New York appeals court later overturned a substantial judgment against Trump, with Trump now seeking to overturn the remaining aspects of the case.
In his 2020 memoir, “Disloyal: The True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump,” Cohen was sharply critical of Trump, labeling him an “organized crime don” and “master manipulator.” Yet, he also expressed lingering affection for Trump, stating, “I had and still have a lot of affection for him.”
As Trump and Cohen prepare to share the airwaves once again, their journey from allies to adversaries and back again serves as a compelling narrative in the ongoing saga of politics and personal relationships in the tumultuous world surrounding Trump.
