President Donald Trump participated in a broadcast interview Thursday with his former attorney Michael Cohen, marking a public reconciliation between the two men. Cohen, who previously provided testimony that contributed to the president's 2024 criminal conviction, hosted Trump on his New York radio program. During the broadcast, Cohen referred to Trump as "boss" and delivered a monologue on the themes of friendship and forgiveness, while Trump expressed respect for what he characterized as Cohen's decision to recant previous statements.
The appearance follows years of public and legal disputes between the former associates. Cohen served over a year in prison following a 2018 sentence for crimes including personal tax evasion, lying to Congress, and a $130,000 hush-money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. In 2024, Trump was convicted on 34 counts of falsification of business records related to that payment, a case in which Cohen served as a key witness. Trump has denied the encounter with Daniels and is currently appealing the conviction.
During the recorded segments aired Thursday, Trump spoke from the White House, discussing his administration's policies on immigration and his views on political polling. U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, who previously represented Trump in the hush-money trial and had labeled Cohen the "greatest liar of all time" during court proceedings, did not issue a statement on the reunion. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the interview, the remainder of which is scheduled to air this Sunday.
The reversal of their relationship also impacts the ongoing legal challenge to Trump's conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. A federal appeals court recently ordered a Manhattan judge to review how the Supreme Court's July 2024 ruling on presidential immunity applies to this specific case. Because Cohen was a central witness in the original trial, his public statement that he "recanted" and his participation in this interview could be cited in future court filings as the defense seeks to overturn the 2024 verdict.
For the American public, the immediate impact is a shift in political alliances as the nation approaches the November 2026 midterm elections. Voters and legal observers will see the results of this reconciliation reflected in the remainder of the interview scheduled for Sunday and in any subsequent legal motions filed by Trump’s defense team. The next concrete step in the legal process is the Manhattan judge's review of the immunity ruling, though a specific date for that decision has not been reported.