Trump reunites with former fixer Michael Cohen in radio interview despite bitter feud

US President Donald Trump had a cordial public reunion Thursday with Michael Cohen, his former personal lawyer and fixer turned adversary whose testimony played a key role in Trump’s 2024 conviction in the Stormy Daniels hush-money case.

Cohen, who is seeking a presidential pardon, interviewed Trump on his New York radio programme. Referring to Trump as “boss”, Cohen delivered a six-minute monologue about friendship, forgiveness and reconciliation.

Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison in 2018 and served more than a year for arranging a $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election. He also pleaded guilty to other offences, including tax fraud and lying under oath to Congress.

Trump was convicted in 2024 on 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal the Daniels payment, with Cohen’s testimony forming part of the prosecution’s case. Trump has denied having an encounter with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, and is appealing the conviction.

During the trial, Trump was represented by Todd Blanche, who is now the US attorney general. Blanche had described Cohen in court as the “GLOAT”, or “greatest liar of all time”.

“How do two men who spent years in an all-out public war hurling verbal and legal missiles across a massive canyon ever come back to the same room?” Cohen said during the programme. “We forgave.”

Trump, speaking to Cohen from the White House, greeted his former fixer of 15 years warmly.

“Hello Michael. How are you, Michael?” Trump said.

“I respect the fact that you recanted everything you said,” Trump added.

Cohen broadcast excerpts from the pre-recorded interview, which also touched on Trump’s familiar political themes, including his criticism of immigration and his attacks on unfavourable opinion polls.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the interview. Additional portions of the conversation are scheduled to air on Sunday.

Cohen’s interview comes as Trump seeks to strengthen political alliances ahead of the November midterm elections. Cohen, meanwhile, is seeking a pardon from the president.

Following Trump’s re-election in 2024, a federal appeals court directed the Manhattan judge overseeing the hush-money case to examine how the US Supreme Court’s July 2024 ruling granting Trump broad presidential immunity could affect the New York conviction.

Cohen ended the interview segment by singing a line from Peaches & Herb’s 1978 R&B hit “Reunited”: “Reunited, and it feels so good.”