Full Breakdown
Trump Appears on Michael Cohen’s Radio Show, Signaling Public Reconciliation
8/22/2026, 12:56:03 AM
Core Event
President Donald J. Trump was featured in a taped interview on former personal attorney Michael Cohen’s 77 WABC radio program on Thursday, with a preview segment airing that evening and the full interview scheduled for Sunday at 5 p.m. The appearance marks the first public conversation between the two since Cohen’s testimony helped secure Trump’s 2024 conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
Background & Context
Michael Cohen joined the Trump Organization in 2006 and served as the president’s “fixer,” handling sensitive matters and defending Trump during the 2016 campaign. Their relationship began to unravel in 2018 after federal investigations into Cohen’s business dealings, culminating in his 2018 guilty plea to tax, bank-fraud and campaign-finance violations and a three-year prison sentence. Cohen later became a key prosecution witness, testifying in the 2024 criminal hush-money trial and a 2023 civil fraud case that found Trump’s companies had engaged in long-standing fraud. A New York appeals court subsequently overturned a $550 million judgment from the civil case.
Data & Statistics
- 2018: Cohen sentenced to three years in federal prison.
- 2024: Trump convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
- 2023: Civil fraud trial in New York found Trump and his companies had engaged in fraud; $550 million judgment later vacated.
- 2026: Cohen’s radio show debuted after a July 13 news conference announcing the program.
Official Statements & Responses
- He also reiterated that he has not received a response to his renewed pardon application.
Verbatim Quotes
- “The good times don’t cease to have existed because the bad times came afterward,” — Michael Cohen, former personal attorney to President Donald J. Trump
- “They weaponized you like nobody’s ever been weaponized, like few have been,” — President Donald J. Trump
- “What I was doing, I was doing at the direction of and benefit of Mr. Trump,” — Michael Cohen
- “So, what I did is I took that same application, with the same documentation, and I just rewrote the cover letter, removing the name of President Joe Biden and inserting the name President Donald Trump,” — Michael Cohen
What’s Next
Cohen indicated he will follow up on his pardon application on Friday. The complete interview with Trump is slated to air in full on Sunday at 5 p.m., which may provide further insight into the evolving dynamic between the former president and his longtime aide.
