Overview
- Cohen says the truce began roughly six months ago after a mutual friend sent a text that conveyed Trump’s “genuine empathy,” which led Cohen to text the president and receive an almost immediate reply proposing a meeting.
- He told radio hosts and CNN that the outreach followed a January Substack post in which he said New York prosecutors pressured him to shape testimony against Trump.
- Cohen described the relationship as “cordial and growing” and said he hopes for a one-on-one White House visit, but the White House has not independently confirmed the outreach or any in-person meeting.
- Cohen also told interviewers he never saw Trump interact with Jeffrey Epstein, a claim he says undercut narratives that had won him support from some on the left and contributed to a backlash against him.
- News organizations across the political spectrum reported Cohen’s account while noting his 2018 guilty pleas, prison time and later role as a key witness in New York cases that helped produce Trump’s 34-count conviction, which together make the reconciliation politically charged and raise questions about motive and public trust.