Trump Makes Surprise Appearance on Ex-Fixer Michael Cohen’s Radio Show After Years-Long Feud

US, Aug 21 : President Donald Trump made a surprise appearance Thursday on the radio programme hosted by his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen, marking a remarkable thaw in a relationship that had deteriorated into one of the most bitter feuds of his political career.

The appearance on Cohen’s 77 WABC programme, “When You Know, You Know”, brought the former allies together publicly years after Cohen turned against Trump, testified in court and served a prison sentence over charges connected to his work for the former president.

A portion of the 40-minute conversation aired Thursday evening, while the complete interview is scheduled to be broadcast Sunday at 5 p.m. ET. The exchange was notably cordial, with both men largely avoiding the details of their turbulent past.

“They weaponised you, they weaponised a lot of people,” Trump told Cohen during the conversation, adding that he respected Cohen for what he described as recanting earlier statements.

The reconciliation comes as Cohen has renewed his request for a presidential pardon. Speaking to CNN before the radio programme aired, Cohen said he had submitted another pardon application to the White House after an earlier request was rejected by the previous administration. He said he had not yet received a response and planned to follow up.

From trusted aide to courtroom witness

Cohen was once among Trump’s closest advisers and famously described himself as someone willing to defend the businessman at all costs. Their relationship changed dramatically after federal investigators raided Cohen’s office, home and hotel room in 2018.

Cohen later pleaded guilty to several offences, including lying to Congress about a proposed Trump Tower project in Russia and campaign finance violations connected to payments involving adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. He was sentenced to three years in prison.

The former lawyer subsequently became a key witness against Trump in New York.

During Trump’s 2024 hush-money trial, Cohen testified that he had acted at Trump’s direction when arranging payments intended to prevent damaging allegations about the then-presidential candidate from becoming public.

Trump was ultimately convicted on 34 felony counts in the case, although the conviction resulted in no punishment.

Cohen’s testimony became one of the defining moments in the legal battle between the two men and further destroyed their already strained relationship.

Cohen says reconciliation followed private meetings

Cohen has revealed that he and Trump had spoken privately several times over the past year. According to CNN, their renewed contact began after a White House associate reached out to Cohen and conveyed Trump’s sympathy for what he had experienced.

The two later met privately at Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

Cohen acknowledged the painful history between them but said forgiveness did not mean forgetting what happened.

“Forgiveness does not mean amnesia,” Cohen said, describing his decision to move beyond their long-running conflict.

He also appeared nostalgic about his years working closely with Trump, addressing him as “Boss” during the programme and recalling the period when he was one of Trump’s most trusted aides.

In a newsletter promoting the interview, Cohen said the relationship had once turned into “political blood sport” despite their 15 years of friendship. He argued that the difficult years did not erase the positive experiences they had shared.

Cohen changes stance on testimony

The former Trump lawyer has increasingly criticised the way prosecutors handled his cases and has claimed that he was pressured to provide testimony that supported the government’s efforts against Trump.

In a January Substack post, Cohen said he felt pressured and coerced into giving information and testimony that prosecutors wanted in order to strengthen their cases against the president.

Trump has also shared social media posts featuring Cohen’s claims that he was pressured by prosecutors during the investigations.

The shift has helped create an opening for the two former allies to repair their relationship.

A dramatic reversal

The public reconciliation represents a remarkable turnaround for Cohen, who once described Trump in deeply hostile terms after their relationship collapsed.

In his 2020 memoir, “Disloyal”, Cohen portrayed Trump as a manipulative and authoritarian figure and accused him of behaving like an organised crime boss. Yet even then, he acknowledged that he continued to have affection for his former employer.

Cohen’s return to Trump’s orbit follows other high-profile reconciliations involving people who have previously fallen out with the president.

The renewed relationship could also carry personal significance for Cohen as he awaits an answer on his pardon request. For Trump, meanwhile, the appearance offered a highly unusual public demonstration of reconciliation with a former insider who once played a central role in legal proceedings against him.

Despite their extraordinary history, Thursday’s conversation suggested that the two men are now attempting to move beyond their years-long confrontation, with both portraying forgiveness and reconciliation as a way of leaving their bitter past behind.