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President Donald Trump and his former attorney Michael Cohen held their first public conversation in eight years on Thursday, signaling a reconciliation following years of legal conflict. During a phone interview for WABC, Trump claimed he would win a hypothetical third term by 25 points, while Cohen confirmed he has applied for a presidential pardon.
The exchange follows a long period of public hostility between the two men. Cohen, once a close legal advisor to Trump, served three years in prison for tax violations and lying to Congress, and later testified as a star witness in a New York trial where Trump was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records. Cohen recently stated that the two rekindled their relationship after he faced criticism from liberals for disputing claims regarding Trump and Jeffrey Epstein.
In the interview preview shared Thursday, Trump praised Cohen for a January Substack post in which Cohen claimed he felt "compelled and coerced" by New York officials to testify against the president. Trump stated he respected Cohen for what he described as a recantation of his previous testimony. Addressing current politics, Trump cited a strong economy as the reason for his confidence in polling, despite a recent Reuters/Ipsos survey showing his approval rating at 33 percent.
For the general public, the interview highlights a shift in testimony from a central figure in the legal proceedings that led to Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts in New York. While the source notes that an unconstitutional third term is not currently being sought, Trump’s claim of a 25-point lead in a hypothetical race contrasts with reported approval ratings that have reached a presidency-low of 33 percent. This discrepancy in data points reflects the ongoing disagreement between the administration's internal metrics and external polling organizations.
The shift in Cohen’s public stance from labeling Trump a "con man" in 2019 to conducting a "familiar" interview in 2026 sets a precedent for how witnesses in high-profile political cases may re-align with their former employers. This change in relationship followed what Cohen described as "feral" backlash from liberals after he defended the president in other matters. What happens next depends on the White House review of Cohen’s pardon application; no specific date for a decision on the pardon has been reported.