Trump appears on radio show of Michael Cohen, fixer-turned-foe, after detente

President Trump appeared Thursday on the radio show of Michael Cohen , his fixer-turned-foe, in a stunning public reunion with the man who once called him a "Cheeto-dusted cartoon villain" and testified against him both in court and before Congress.

For Cohen, who served prison time for his role in what he said was covering up Mr. Trump's "dirty deeds," it was the culmination of a behind-the-scenes detente that would have been impossible to imagine several years ago.

The interview, part of which aired Thursday evening on Cohen's radio program on 77 WABC-AM in New York and which will air in full on Sunday, was an exceptionally friendly affair, with only passing reference to the men's tumultuous history.

"They weaponized you like nobody's ever been weaponized, like few have been," Mr. Trump told Cohen.

"I respect the fact that you recanted everything you said," he went on. "That's a big thing that you did."

In an interview with CNN shortly before the radio interview aired, Cohen said he had resubmitted a pardon application to the White House that had been denied by the previous administration, but had yet to receive any response and planned to follow up Friday.

"I took that same application with the same documentation, and I just rewrote the cover letter removing the name of President Joe Biden and inserting the name President Donald Trump," Cohen said. " ... I have not received an acknowledgement that they have the application, which is on my to-do list. ... I intend to call tomorrow to find out what happened because I did send it by FedEx , so I do have a receipt."

The truce with Cohen makes him the latest in a long line of Trump loyalists who have had public falling-outs with the president but found themselves back in his good graces. Other recent examples include Elon Musk and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

But the split from Cohen was perhaps the most personal. Cohen once boasted that he would "take a bullet" for the president and was by Mr. Trump's side during his political rise. After their public breakup, Cohen's testimony in Mr. Trump's 2024 criminal hush-money trial instead helped secure Mr. Trump's criminal conviction just as he was trying to make his political comeback.

Cohen has since criticized prosecutors in the case — an admission that paved the way for their reconciliation.

Cohen has said he and the president have had multiple conversations over the past year and introduced the interview by explaining his decision to move on.

"Forgiveness does not mean amnesia. It does not mean that the past did not happen. It does not mean the scars vanish, that the pain was fake or that I have forgotten a single second of what transpired, I have not. Forgiveness isn't about erasing history," he said. "It is about having the courage to decide that yesterday will no longer dictate tomorrow."

He sounded nostalgic about a time when he was one of Mr. Trump's most trusted aides, saying at one point, "Boss, remember when I was by your side."

The clip was introduced with the 1975 War song, "Why Can't We Be Friends," and closed with the lyrics, "Reunited and it feels so good," from the 1978 Peaches & Herb song.