President Donald Trump made a surprise appearance on Michael Cohen's radio show, "When You Know, You Know," on Thursday evening, engaging in an exceptionally friendly interview. This reunion comes years after Cohen, once Trump's loyal "fixer," turned against him, served prison time for charges he attributed to covering up Trump's "dirty deeds," and testified against him in court and before Congress. The interview, a portion of which aired Thursday and the full version scheduled for Sunday, largely avoided their tumultuous past, focusing instead on shared grievances against media and political opponents.
During the segment, Trump stated that Cohen had been "weaponized like nobody’s ever been weaponized," implying he was unfairly targeted by outside forces. He also expressed respect for Cohen's apparent recantation of past statements, saying, "I respect the fact that you recanted everything you said. That’s a big thing that you did." Cohen, for his part, quoted a Bible verse about forgiveness and played the song "Why Can't We Be Friends?" while largely downplaying their previous clashes, asserting that true loyalty doesn't require forgetting past hurts but rather moving beyond the "worst chapter."
The reconciliation is particularly notable given their highly public and bitter falling out, which began in 2018. Cohen pleaded guilty to a "smorgasbord" of criminal conduct, including making hush-money payments to women on Trump's behalf and lying to Congress, leading to a three-year prison sentence. He subsequently became a key witness in two significant legal cases against Trump, including the New York Attorney General's investigation that resulted in a $500 million civil judgment against Trump's company and the Manhattan District Attorney's case that led to a guilty verdict on 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Despite their fraught history, which included Trump filing a $500 million lawsuit against Cohen for allegedly violating their attorney-client relationship (a suit later dropped), both men presented a united front. Cohen suggested to NBC News before the interview that the conversation contained things Trump said that he had "never heard before" and that listeners would be "shocked." The interview covered typical Trump campaign themes, including positive remarks about the Iran war, criticism of Democrats, and boasts about his economic policies, with both men also criticizing media polls and outlets like CNN and The New York Times.
At the close of their on-air discussion, Cohen referenced the 1978 Peaches & Herb song "Reunited," telling his audience, "Yeah, reunited, and it feels so good." This surprising public detente marks a significant shift in a relationship that has been central to many of the legal and political challenges faced by the former president.
