Despite years of public acrimony, President Donald Trump and his former attorney Michael Cohen appeared to have buried the hatchet in a new interview. In a preview clip, the president addressed Cohen’s legal troubles and decision to testify against him in a 2024 trial.
The president described how Cohen had been targeted and coerced: “They weaponized government against you and against others, Michael. There were plenty of others too, and it’s a disgrace,” he told Cohen. “I think it’s so amazing that you came out, and you told the story, and people respect you for doing it.”
The conversation, which will air in full on his radio show on Sunday, follows years of public acrimony between the pair.
Cohen’s feud with Trump began after he pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court in 2018 to eight criminal counts related to a payment scheme created to silence women who claimed to have had affairs with Trump. Cohen later served as a star witness in Trump’s New York hush money criminal trial, where the president was convicted in 2024 on 34 counts of falsifying business records connected to payments to adult film actor Stormy Daniels.
Asked earlier in the day whether he was taking back anything he had said about Trump, Cohen responded: “What was said is said, and that’s where I stand with it.”
Cohen also stated on his radio show that he did not want their conflict to be the defining chapter of his life. “The good memories don’t cease to exist simply because terrible ones followed them,” he said. “True loyalty doesn’t mean pretending 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.”
Trump’s remarks during the interview, however, were more reminiscent of his campaign-style rallies. He spoke in positive terms about the Iran war, disparaged Democrats, and boasted about his economic policies.
The full interview is expected to air at 5 p.m. ET on his radio show, “When You Know, You Know.” President Trump appeared to have reconciled with one of his most outspoken critics, Michael Cohen, who worked for him from 2006 through the 2016 election.