President Trump Defends Cohen In New Interview: ‘They Weaponized Government Against You’

“They weaponized government against you and against others, Michael. There were plenty of others too, and it’s a disgrace,” the president told Cohen. “I think it’s so amazing that you came out, and you told the story, and people respect you for doing it.”

The conversation, which will air in full on Cohen’s 77 WABC radio show on Sunday, follows years of public acrimony between the pair.

The feud between the president and his personal lawyer stemmed from Cohen’s 2018 guilty plea in Manhattan federal court to eight criminal counts in a payment scheme created to silence women who claimed to have had affairs with Trump.

Cohen later served as a star witness in Trump’s New York hush money criminal trial, in which the president was convicted in 2024 on 34 counts of falsifying business records connected to payments to adult film actor Stormy Daniels.

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LIVE NOW: Michael and President Trump discuss 2016.

Listen Now: https://t.co/JYtLGcmjeq pic.twitter.com/sXCbatGRfH

— TalkRadio 77 WABC (@77WABCradio) August 20, 2026

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Cohen interviewing Trump. Radio just got interesting.

— Johnathon "Jack" Corcoran

(@TheKingCorcoran) August 20, 2026

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I love watching the libshits flavors of the month completely betray them. It never gets old.

— Rapidsloth (@Rapidsloth_) August 21, 2026

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Asked earlier in the day on CNN whether he was taking back anything he has said about Trump, Cohen responded, “What was said is said, and that’s where I stand with it.”

Cohen toed a similar line on his radio show, saying he did not want his fight with Trump to be the defining chapter of his life.

“The good memories don’t cease to exist simply because terrible ones followed them,” Cohen said. “True loyalty doesn’t mean pretending that you were never hurt. Reconciliation doesn’t mean surrendering your principles or rewriting facts. It simply means deciding that your story doesn’t have to end in its worst chapter.”

Trump’s remarks, however, were more reminiscent of his campaign-style rallies. He spoke in positive terms about the Iran war, disparaged Democrats and boasted about his economic policies.

The full interview is expected to air at 5 p.m. ET Sunday on Cohen’s WABC radio show, “When You Know, You Know.”

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President Trump appears to have reconciled with one of his most outspoken critics, Michael Cohen, who worked for the president from 2006 through the 2016 election.

The pair reunited on Cohen’s radio show, with excerpts of the friendly interview released Thursday night, in which… pic.twitter.com/2DBdiI4ubS

— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) August 21, 2026

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