Trump tells Cohen he was 'weaponized' in feud

President Trump suggested Michael Cohen was "forced" to testify against him in the 2024 New York hush money trial in a Thursday clip from the president's upcoming interview with his former personal attorney. "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. Earlier this year, the lawyer claimed he was pressured by New York Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to testify against his former client in this case. "I felt compelled and coerced to deliver what they were seeking," Cohen wrote in a Substack post. "Letitia James and Alvin Bragg may not share the same office, but they share the same playbook." In other segments of their conversation shared by WABC on Thursday, the president defended his administration's military operations in Iran and pushed back on unfavorable approval ratings. "I think that we're doing really well in the polls - the real polls," Trump said. "If I were running today, I think I'd win by 25 points. I think we'd win by a lot." Cohen described his relationship with Trump as being "resuscitated" in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper ahead of the clip's release on Thursday evening. "I truly believe that there is forgiveness between Donald Trump and myself, and that to me is what is important right now," the attorney said. Cohen told CNN that he has submitted a pardon application during Trump's second term, but that he has not asked the president directly about this request. The attorney said he has not received a notice that the White House has received his application and intends to follow up on Friday.