President Donald Trump appeared on Thursday on his former fixer-turned-foe Michael Cohen’s radio show, marking a stunning public reconciliation years after a bitter fallout that included Cohen’s testimony in a criminal hush-money trial. The broadcast on 77 WABC featured friendly conversation and mutual praise.
A Stunned Public Reunion on Radio
President Donald Trump appeared Thursday on his former fixer-turned-foe Michael Cohen’s radio show holding a stunning public reunion with the man who once called him a Cheeto-dusted cartoon villain
and testified against him both in court and before Congress. For Cohen, who served prison time for his role in what he said was covering up Trump’s dirty deeds, the appearance was the culmination of a behind-the-scenes detente that would have been impossible to imagine several years ago.
The interview aired in part on Cohen’s 77 WABC radio program on Thursday evening, with the full broadcast scheduled for Sunday. It marked an exceptionally friendly affair with only passing reference to the men’s tumultuous history. The broadcast opened with the 1975 War song, Why Can’t We Be Friends,
and closed with the lyrics, Reunited and it feels so good,
from the 1978 Peaches & Herb song, according to WSJ.
During the program, Trump offered supportive remarks to his former attorney.
They weaponized you like nobody’s ever been weaponized, like few have been.
From Political Blood Sport to Behind-the-Scenes Detente
The truce with Cohen places him among a long line of Trump loyalists who experienced public falling-outs with the president before returning to his good graces, alongside figures like Elon Musk and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Bdtonline. Yet the split from Cohen carried a uniquely personal weight. Cohen once boasted that he would take a bullet for the president and stood by his side through his political rise.
Their public breakup culminated during Trump’s 2024 criminal hush-money trial, where Cohen served as the star witness whose testimony helped secure a 34-count felony conviction. Cohen later criticized prosecutors in the case, an admission that ultimately paved the way for their reconciliation. In an online newsletter post published Thursday, Cohen reflected on their history.
The good times don’t cease to have existed because the bad times came afterward.
Inside the 2024 Prosecution and Prior Loyalty
During the 2024 New York trial, Cohen endured days of probing questioning by prosecutors followed by bruising cross-examination, placing the then-Republican candidate at the center of schemes during the 2016 presidential election to stifle accounts from an adult film actor and a former Playboy model Newsday.
Cohen testified that Trump promised to reimburse him for the money he fronted and remained constantly updated on efforts to bury stories perceived as harmful to the campaign. What I was doing, I was doing at the direction of and benefit of Mr. Trump,
Cohen testified.
Pending Pardon Application and Next Steps
Shortly before the radio interview aired, Cohen stated in an interview with CNN that he had resubmitted a pardon application to the White House that had been denied by the previous administration. Cohen noted that he had yet to receive any response and planned to follow up on Friday.
While Trump had made no warm public statements regarding Cohen prior to Thursday, he had shared social media posts earlier in the year linking to comments where Cohen expressed feeling pressured by prosecutors to testify against him.
