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See the full story · 10 sources‘You and I have obviously traveled a pretty rocky road together,’ Cohen told Trump
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Michael Cohen , once Donald Trump’s loyal fixer turned star witness against him , has conducted his first public conversation with the president in eight years after the pair mended fences.
On Thursday, Cohen shared an exclusive preview of his WABC interview with the president, describing the exchange as “easy” and “familiar” despite the bitter, years-long rupture between the two men.
“You and I have obviously traveled a pretty rocky road together,” Cohen told Trump, following an introduction set to the song Why Can't We Be Friends .
The president, calling in by phone, commiserated with Cohen and praised him, saying: “They weaponized you like nobody's ever been weaponized.” He added, “I respect the fact that you recanted everything you said. And that's a big, that's a big thing that you did.”
He appeared to be referencing a January Substack post by Cohen, in which he wrote that he felt “ compelled and coerced ” by New York officials to testify against the president.
Cohen then asked the president what he thought of people “who keep bringing up polls” even though, he said, Trump is not seeking an unconstitutional third term .
“I think that we're doing really well in the polls, the real polls,” Trump replied.
“If I were running today, I think I'd win by 25 points,” he continued. “I think we'd win by a lot. The economy has never been stronger. We're doing numbers that nobody's ever seen before.”
Recent polling suggests that Trump remains deeply unpopular with the American public. A Reuters/Ipsos survey found that just 33 percent of respondents approved of his job performance — the lowest rating of his presidency.
Cohen served for years as Trump’s personal attorney, displaying such fierce loyalty that he once said he would “take a bullet” for him. But in 2019, Cohen told Congress that Trump was a “con man” and a “cheat.” He later admitted in Trump’s hush-money case that he helped arrange payments to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels to conceal an alleged affair with Trump. Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records , though he has maintained his innocence.
Cohen’s break with Trump earned him admiration from many Democrats and contempt from Republicans, who cast him as a turncoat. Trump branded Cohen a “sleazebag” who is “fully discredited.”
Earlier this summer, however, Cohen said that his relationship with Trump had entered a new, unexpected phase . “We rekindled our relationship because of a shared experience of betrayal,” Cohen told WABC in July. “It’s really all about betrayal.”
Cohen said that, after he criticized New York Democrats and stated that he had never seen Trump meet with Jeffrey Epstein, liberals turned “feral” on him. The backlash, he said, prompted him and Trump to resume communicating. “The ice between us, it didn’t just melt, it broke,” Cohen said.
Cohen, who served three years in prison for lying to Congress and tax violations, also told CNN on Thursday that he had submitted a pardon application to the White House.
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