President Donald Trump appeared on former attorney Michael Cohen’s WABC 77 radio program in New York on Sunday and praised Cohen for what Trump described as “a brave thing.” Trump said Cohen had recanted testimony against him after facing pressure from prosecutors.
Trump stated that Cohen had fallen victim to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and what Trump called a Democrat-run “weaponized government.” He compared the situation to something out of the Wild West and said the system had forced Cohen to warp his testimony.
“Look, you took back, you recanted your testimony,” Trump said. “They forced you to do that. They threatened you with jail, they threatened you with everything if you didn’t go against Trump, and you took it back. I wouldn’t even be talking to you right now if you didn’t, to be honest. You did something very few people have done.”
Trump recalled the 2018 FBI search and criticized New York prosecutors
Trump said he vividly remembered what he called the “disgraceful” FBI attack on Cohen’s office in 2018. He then returned to criticizing Bragg and New York Attorney General Letitia James. “A lot of people wouldn’t have been able to take it. You took it for a while, in all fairness, then they broke you down, but you came back,” Trump said.
He continued, “Look, Tish James and Alvin Bragg, what they did to you, and they used you, and what you did was actually a brave thing, because you said what they did was wrong. They forced you to say things you didn’t want to say, they forced you to say things that were false, because they have a threat with jail, and every other thing, probably, I don’t know, I never spoke to you about that, but probably the worst things that you can imagine.”
Trump added, “I think it’s so amazing that you came out and you told the story and people respect you for doing it.” Cohen responded that not everyone respects him for the reversal and that a lot of people hate him for it.
Cohen had served as a key witness in a 2023 civil action brought by James on charges that Trump fraudulently inflated his business assets. He also served as a key witness in a 2024 criminal case known as the Stormy Daniels hush money case, which was brought by Bragg. Trump’s legal challenges extend beyond the cases Cohen testified in, as E Jean Carroll won her civil case against him.
The two men had a public falling out afterward. Many political observers expressed surprise that Trump would appear on Cohen’s radio show. Trump has also been fighting legal battles on other fronts, such as when his team tried to fend off a shockingly broad request for his family records.
The path to the reunion opened earlier this year when Cohen said he “felt pressured and coerced” to mold his testimony to bolster a political witch hunt against Trump. Progressive media company MeidasTouch Network cut ties with Cohen hours after that statement.
Published: Aug 24, 2026 09:30 am