Story summary
Donald Trump, the 45th President of the United States, appeared on a radio show hosted by his former fixer Michael Cohen. The two men had a contentious relationship in the past, with Cohen testifying against Trump in Congress and describing him as a "racist, a con man, and a cheat". However, during their recent conversation on Cohen's New York City radio show, they seemed to have put their differences aside. Trump praised Cohen for "recanting everything" he had said about him, while Cohen referred to Trump as "boss" and quoted a Bible verse about forgiveness.
This marked a significant change in tone from Cohen's previous comments about Trump. In 2019, Cohen testified against Trump in Congress, describing him as a "Cheeto-dusted cartoon villain". However, since then, Cohen has seemingly undergone a change of heart, with some speculating that he may be seeking to distance himself from the Democratic Party.
The interview was seen as a remarkable reconciliation between two men who had once been at odds. Trump also touched on their past differences, saying that Cohen had been "weaponized" like never before, but seemed to accept his apology. The full interview is expected to air on Sunday on Cohen's WABC radio show.
It's worth noting that some critics have accused Cohen of being overly deferential and sycophantic during the interview, failing to challenge Trump's lies or hold him accountable for his past actions.
Written for “Trump Meets Former Fixer Cohen” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 4 other(s) covering the same event.
This concludes our programming for the evening.
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This → conclude → evening
Thanks for joining us and here are the latest developments in the unfolding sequel to the first Trump presidency:
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developments → join → presidency
The White House faced fresh questions over whether Donald Trump’s closest aide, Natalie Harp, had access to US government secrets without security clearance.
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aide → face → clearance
At a Rose Garden event to promote Melania Trump’s advocacy for foster children, the first lady opened with a joked about her lack of recent public appearances, as her husband looked on with something less than rapt attention.
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husband → promote → attention
Trump’s former fixer, Michael Cohen, who turned on the president in 2019, when he compared him to a mobster during congressional testimony, executed another 180-degree turn, showering the president with praise during a friendly conversation between the two men on Cohen’s New York City radio show.
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he → turn → show
A 21-year-old recent college graduate was behind an anonymous website that put out widely shared fake election polling in Wisconsin, Nevada and California.
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that → put → Wisconsin
Progressive Aisha Wahab was elected to Congress in a special election following a bitter intra-party battle over the seat formerly held by Eric Swalwell.
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Wahab → elect → Swalwell
One week after Trump ordered his navy secretary to redesign a new aircraft carrier, the USS Doris Miller - to scrap the modern electromagnetic system used to launch fighter jets, and install old-fashioned steam-powered catapults instead - CNN reports that the navy is considering another change to the same ship: removing the name of Miller, a Black sailor known for his heroism during the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, and naming it instead the USS Donald Trump.
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navy → order → Trump
The non-partisan Cook Political Report updated its midterm election forecast to rate the US Senate races in both Texas and Iowa, which had leaned in favor of Republicans, as toss ups that could break for Democrats.
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that → update → Democrats
Los Angeles mayor's attack on taco trucks puzzles voters
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attack → puzzle → voters
Voters in Los Angeles were left scratching their heads on Thursday, as word spread that the city’s mayor, Karen Bass, had suggested during a heated mayoral debate that taco trucks, a beloved LA institution, were a nuisance she compared to homeless encampments .
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she → leave → encampments
The mayor made the remarks as she attempted to attack her rival, city council member Nithya Raman, for defending street vendors in response to a question from one of the moderators at a debate sponsored by the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association.
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she → make → Association
“Just across the parking lot from here, La Fogata restaurant has been serving our community for 50 years.
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restaurant → serve → years
So now an unpermitted street vendor is operating in the parking lot and selling tacos,” the moderator began.
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moderator → operate → tacos
“How is that fair to an established local business that pays rent and taxes and complies with health and business regulations?
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that → establish → regulations
Shouldn’t LA county require street vendors to meet the same health and safety standards as brick and mortar restaurants?” she asked.
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she → require → restaurants
“I really, really value our restaurant community,” Raman replied.
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Raman → value → community
She went on to argue that “if regulated appropriately … I believe the two can coexist in LA and actually make this city better”.
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city → go → LA
“I do not think that you should have a food vendor in front of a restaurant, period,” Bass countered.
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Bass → think → restaurant
“I would like to see street vendors move into brick-and-mortar facilities so they can be restaurants.”
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they → like → facilities
Having taco trucks “right in front of a restaurant … discourages patrons from going in”, Bass added, without explaining how.
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Bass → have → patrons
“Just like you shouldn’t have encampments in front of restaurants or in front of schools.
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you → have → schools
You just should not do that.
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You → do → that
We have to end street homelessness.
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We → have → homelessness
To some Angelenos, the attack from Bass on their culture sounded like an echo of a claim made by one of Donald Trump’s supporters in the last phase of the 2016 campaign.
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attack → sound → campaign
“My culture is a very dominant culture,” Marco Gutierrez, the Mexican-born founder of Latinos for Trump told MSNBC in September 2016, casting Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric as common sense.
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Gutierrez → bear → sense
“It is imposing and it’s causing problems.
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it → impose → problems
If you don’t do something about it, you’re going to have taco trucks on every corner,” he added, triggering a tidal wave of memes and a rebuttal from Hillary Clinton.
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he → do → Clinton
Progressive Aisha Wahab has been elected to Congress in a special election following a bitter intra-party battle over the seat formerly held by Eric Swalwell, who resigned in April after facing sexual misconduct allegations.
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who → elect → allegations
Swalwell has denied the allegations.
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Swalwell → deny → allegations
Wahab, a state senator, was widely considered the frontrunner in the district in California’s East Bay and had the backing of the state Democratic party as well as Our Revolution, labor unions, local officials and the state’s attorney general, Rob Bonta.
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Wahab → consider → party
She won the primary for the special election for the final months of Swalwell’s term by more than 20 points over Melissa Hernandez, the president of the board of directors for the Bay Area Rapid Transit (Bart) agency.
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She → win → agency
The same two candidates then faced off again in a general election rematch that was much closer.
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that → face → rematch
“I will fight for this district that raised me,” Wahab said in a statement on Thursday.
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Wahab → fight → Thursday
“From foster care to Congress, this journey shows the possibility of the American Dream.”
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journey → show → Dream
While Wahab held a major lead throughout the race, Hernandez’s campaign received a significant boost as Super Pacs connected to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) poured money into the race.
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Pacs → hold → race
With 92% of votes counted on Thursday afternoon, Wahab led Hernandez by just over six points – a much closer race than expected.
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Wahab → count → points
Earlier this month, it emerged that Super Pacs had spent more than $5m in a matter of weeks on pro-Hernandez ads and Wahab attack ads.
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Pacs → emerge → ads
Track Aipac, which monitors the group’s funding of US politicians, recently reported that the lobby had spent nearly $6.4m to support Hernandez.
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lobby → monitor → Hernandez
Wahab, the first Muslim woman and Afghan American elected to the California legislature, told the Guardian there had been a sudden surge of critical ads that had misrepresented her record.
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that → elect → record
…and 87 more, not listed.
