Donald Trump appears to have mended his relationship with former close aide and personal attorney Michael Cohen during an unusually warm interview that had been teased earlier in the week and aired in full on Sunday. The U.S. president and Cohen covered a wide range of topics — from a proposed ballroom Trump wants built at the White House and the state of the American economy during his second term, to what he describes as the “weaponization” of institutions and the justice system, which he claims is leading America toward ruin.
It marks the first time Trump and Cohen have spoken publicly since the hush money trial involving Stormy Daniels, in which the former presidential attorney and self-described “fixer” served as a key prosecution witness. That trial ended with Trump being convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
Over the years, the two men had repeatedly traded fierce accusations, each charging the other with wrongdoing. Cohen had previously called Trump a “con man” and a “predator,” while Trump had labeled his once-trusted ally a “rat.”
Trump & Cohen: From bitter enemies… back to boss and loyalist
On Sunday, however, the atmosphere could not have been more different. The two men engaged in a remarkably friendly conversation, with Cohen repeatedly referring to Trump as “boss,” and the pair even openly discussing why so many Americans hold such strong feelings of animosity toward the president.
The conversation also turned to Cohen’s role in the Stormy Daniels trial. Trump placed the blame squarely on New York Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, claiming they pressured his former attorney into testifying against him.
“They threatened you with everything if you didn’t turn on Trump, and you took it back. I wouldn’t even be talking to you right now if you hadn’t done that,” Trump told Cohen.
Last week, when CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Cohen whether he still stood by his previous testimony — in which he claimed Trump had directed him to commit crimes — Cohen sidestepped the question. “I’m not going to discuss what I said in the past, what I testified to under oath,” he replied, adding: “What I said was said, and that remains my position.”
Cohen requests a presidential pardon from Trump
Cohen also revealed to CNN that he has submitted a request for a presidential pardon to the Trump White House, after the Biden administration had previously rejected a similar request.
Earlier this year, the former Trump attorney posted online that he felt prosecutors had “pressured and coerced” him into testifying against the current president.
Cohen was imprisoned during Trump’s first term following a $130,000 payment made to Stormy Daniels to keep her from publicly discussing her alleged affair with Trump.
In 2018, he pleaded guilty to eight counts including tax fraud and campaign finance violations.
When Tapper asked him last week whether he still considered Trump a “racist, con man, and cheat,” Cohen declined to answer, repeating that he is now focused on the future rather than the past.
“How is it possible that the two of us can sit down together again? The answer is that we forgave each other,” Cohen said, while clarifying that he has not forgotten anything that happened — but is choosing to use “the courage to stop letting yesterday define tomorrow.”
