‘Hello, Michael’: Trump Interviewed by Former Fixer Who Turned on Him

President Donald Trump kicked off an unlikely interview with his former fixer Michael Cohen on Thursday with a cordial greeting: “Hello, Michael.”

The conversation aired on Cohen’s 77 WABC program, bringing the two former allies together years after their relationship spectacularly unraveled. More of the interview is expected to air on Sunday.

Cohen was once one of Trump’s closest confidants, serving as his personal attorney and fixer for years before their relationship imploded in 2018. Cohen later pleaded guilty to multiple federal crimes and was sentenced to three years in prison, ultimately spending more than a year behind bars. He went on to become a key witness against his former boss, including at Trump’s 2024 hush-money trial, which resulted in a 34-count felony conviction. More recently, however, Cohen has softened his stance toward Trump, saying he felt pressured by prosecutors as the two began to reconcile.

The Thursday interview, fittingly, started with the song “Why Can’t We Be Friends?”

“Hello, Michael,” Trump said. “The country is doing good.”

“Thanks to you, Sir,” Cohen responded, before asking the president to think back to 2016 “because you and I have obviously traveled a pretty rocky road together.”

Cohen went on to mention a CNN appearance of his from the same year. During the exchange in question, he was asked about Trump being “underwater in the polls,” to which he responded, “Says who?”

“And then they weaponized you like nobody’s ever been weaponized — like few have been,” Trump claimed, referring to the media industry.

“Maybe just you and I, Sir,” Cohen said.

“Yeah, me too, but I don’t consider mine — you know, mine was at a level that nobody’s ever seen before,” the president admitted. “I respect the fact that you recanted everything that you said, and that’s a big thing that you did.”

Cohen then called out CNN for having “never apologized,” adding, “Now, years later, CNN, MS NOW, and the other left-leaning outlets — they’re doing the exact same thing. Constantly talking about you being underwater.”

Trump claimed he’s actually doing “really well” in “the real polls.”

Recent Reuters polling lists the president’s approval rating at just 33% — his lowest in the history of the poll.

Listen above via WABC-AM.

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