President Donald Trump and his former personal attorney Michael Cohen participated in a radio interview on 77 WABC in New York City, which aired in part on Thursday. The discussion signaled a change in their public relationship following a period of legal and personal conflict. During the interview, Trump stated that he respected Cohen for recanting previous statements, while Cohen indicated he had initiated a reconciliation after receiving a text message from a mutual acquaintance regarding Trump’s empathy for his legal situation.
The two men had been involved in a long-running dispute stemming from Cohen’s role as a star witness in a 2024 New York criminal case. In that trial, Cohen testified to facilitating payments to adult film actor Stormy Daniels regarding an alleged affair prior to the 2016 election. Cohen recently told WABC hosts John Catsimatidis and Rita Cosby that he reached out to Trump via text approximately six months ago to express a desire to end their "long, exhausting feud," to which Trump reportedly replied that it was "time for us to meet."
In the portions of the interview released Thursday, the pair discussed the economy, recent polling, and foreign policy. Trump claimed that if he were running in an election today, he would win by 25 points. He also addressed international military operations, stating that Israel would not exist without his presidency and asserting that he believes the Middle East would have been "entirely wiped out" otherwise. Further segments of the interview are scheduled to air on Sunday.
The scale of this shift involves the highest levels of the U.S. executive branch and the legal system. While the source does not provide a specific dollar figure for the economic impacts discussed, the political implications involve the former president's standing in national polls, where he claimed a 25-point lead. This development may influence how future legal proceedings or pardon applications are handled, though specific dates for such actions were not reported.
For the average citizen, this event highlights the fluid nature of political alliances and the potential for shifts in official narratives regarding the 2016 and 2024 election cycles. A person would notice the impact of this reconciliation through changes in political messaging and potentially in the outcomes of ongoing legal challenges related to the 2024 New York case. The knock-on effects could reach federal agencies and the court system as the validity of past witness testimony is re-evaluated. The full interview is set to air on August 23, 2026.