Michael Cohen, Trump’s former fixer-turned-nemesis, spent much of a Thursday radio program cozying up to the president and touting how the two had patched up their relationship after a years-long falling out.
“They weaponized you like nobody’s ever been weaponized,” Trump told Cohen during the 77 WABC interview, adding, “…I respect the fact that you recanted everything you said.”
Cohen, who’s previously disparaged Trump and testified against him in civil and criminal trials, similarly gave a lengthy monologue about reconciliation at the start of the program.
“Forgiveness isn’t about erasing history. It is about having the courage to decide that yesterday will no longer dictate tomorrow,” he said, later referring to Trump as “boss.”
“Because what’s happening, boss, remember when I was by your side?” Cohen said at one point.
The thawing of their relationship comes as Cohen claimed in January 2026 — after Trump was re-elected — that he felt pressured by New York prosecutors to provide testimony that would build a case against the president.
Cohen also admitted in a Thursday CNN interview that he had submitted a pardon application with the Trump administration, but said he has not asked Trump directly about it. He added that he had not received confirmation from the administration that it had received that request.
Cohen said that a similar pardon request he had submitted to former President Joe Biden’s administration had been denied.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the state of Trump and Cohen’s relationship, or Cohen’s pardon request.
Thursday’s interview featured many of Trump’s favorite talking points, including digs at the media, attacks on his poor polling numbers, and claims about how much he’s achieved in Iran and Venezuela.
Cohen also seemed eager to give the president pointers at times, floating ways that the administration could better communicate its achievements.
The rest of the interview, which was conducted as part of Cohen’s “When You Know, You Know…” radio program, will air Sunday evening at 5 p.m. Eastern.
The interview between the two, which is their first public conversation in eight years, marks a major about-face from the acrimonious relationship they once had.
In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations tied to his work as Trump’s personal attorney, and was sentenced to three years in prison for these charges and several others.
The following year, Cohen testified in front of Congress and alleged that Trump had reimbursed him for a hush money payment given to an adult film star to cover up her affair with the president. He went on to testify in a criminal trial about the hush-money payment and in a civil fraud trial.
Cohen has also lambasted Trump in other forums, including in his 2020 tell-all memoir “Disloyal.”
Previously, he’s called Trump a “con man”, a “racist” and “a cheat,” while the president has similarly referred to him as a “rat” and a “liar.”