Cohen shared an excerpt Thursday from his first public conversation with Trump in eight years. The former Trump lawyer described the exchange as \u201ceasy\u201d and \u201cfamiliar\u201d after a bitter split that defined much of Trump\u2019s first term.<\/p>\n
The president used the interview to defend his ongoing war with Iran<\/a>, claiming the country\u2019s military and leadership had been severely weakened. He also repeated his longstanding pledge that Iran cannot be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon<\/a>.<\/p>\n Trump further called the U.S. economy a \u201crenaissance,\u201d boasted about his record on illegal immigration and even claimed that he would win by 25 points if he were to run for reelection<\/a> \u2014 despite polls indicating his approval rating remains at historic lows.<\/p>\n The interview was notable for the participants as much as its substance. Cohen was once Trump\u2019s fiercely loyal fixer before becoming a key witness against him. The two have recently resumed contact<\/a>, with Cohen describing their reconciliation as having been rooted in a shared sense of betrayal.<\/p>\n Trump and Cohen\u2019s repaired relationship<\/p>\n Cohen opened the interview by acknowledging the men\u2019s checkered history. \u201cYou and I have obviously traveled a pretty rocky road together,\u201d he told Trump, who called in over the phone.<\/p>\n Trump responded sympathetically, saying, \u201cThey weaponized you like nobody\u2019s ever been weaponized.\u201d He also praised Cohen for having \u201crecanted everything you said,\u201d apparently referring to Cohen\u2019s January claim that New York officials had pressured him to testify against Trump.<\/p>\n Cohen served for years as Trump\u2019s personal attorney, even claiming he would \u201ctake a bullet\u201d for him. But their relationship collapsed after Cohen called Trump a \u201ccon man\u201d in 2019 and later testified against Trump in his New York hush money trial<\/a>.<\/p>\n Cohen, who served three years in prison for lying to Congress and tax violations, became an outspoken Trump critic<\/a> \u2013 one whom Democrats embraced. In 2024, for instance, he claimed Trump would run the U.S. \u201clike the F\u00fchrer<\/a>\u201d if re-elected. The president branded him a \u201csleazebag.\u201d<\/p>\n This summer, however, Cohen said the two had rekindled their relationship<\/a> due to a \u201cshared experience of betrayal.\u201d He said that after criticizing New York Democrats and saying he had never seen Trump meet with Jeffrey Epstein, the pair reconnected. \u201cThe ice between us, it didn\u2019t just melt, it broke,\u201d he told WABC in July.<\/p>\n Cohen also said Thursday that he had submitted a pardon application to the White House.<\/p>\n Iran war<\/p>\n During the interview excerpt, Trump characterized Iran as militarily weakened and economically strained, while arguing that continued U.S. pressure remains necessary.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re doing very well with Iran,\u201d Trump said. \u201cThe navy\u2019s gone, the air force is gone, the leadership is gone.\u201d He said the loss of Iranian leaders had also complicated diplomacy because \u201cnobody knows who\u2019s leading.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump argued \u2014 as he long has \u2014 that the central issue was preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. \u201cIran can never have a nuclear weapon,\u201d he said. \u201cVery simple.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, the president acknowledged the ongoing war could increase energy and gasoline costs<\/a>, but argued that such consequences were necessary. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve wiped them out militarily,\u201d Trump said, while conceding that Iran still has missiles and drones. He said he would have made the same decision \u201c100 times\u201d because, in his view, Iran \u201ccannot have a nuclear weapon, and they won\u2019t be having a nuclear weapon.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump further claimed that, without him, much of the Middle East would be destroyed.<\/p>\n \u201cThere would be no Israel if there was not a Donald Trump president,\u201d he told Cohen. \u201cI think there’d be no Saudi Arabia either. Right now, I believe the Middle East would have been entirely wiped out.\u201d<\/p>\n Multiple polls indicate a majority of Americans are opposed to the Iran war<\/a>, which has now dragged on for nearly five months, upending the global energy industry. To date, 18 US service members have been killed in the war, and hundreds more have been wounded.<\/p>\n Trump brags about US economy<\/p>\n Elsewhere in the interview, the president called the U.S. economy a \u201crenaissance.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s never been anything like it,\u201d Trump said. \u201cWe had the greatest economy ever in my first term. This is going to blow it away.\u201d<\/p>\n He focused on semiconductor production, saying the U.S. had become too dependent on imports from Taiwan<\/a>. Trump said massive chip plants are now being built, including in Arizona, and that the country would no longer need to import the technology.<\/p>\n Trump also pointed to pharmaceutical manufacturing, arguing that the Covid-19 pandemic exposed U.S. dependence on foreign countries for medicine and medical equipment.<\/p>\n \u201cMedicine is coming back,\u201d Trump said. \u201cWe learned that from Covid because we didn\u2019t make medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n He named Eli Lilly, Merck and Pfizer among companies expanding U.S. operations, and argued that his sweeping tariffs \u2014 struck down by the Supreme Court in February<\/a> \u2014 were driving companies to build factories domestically.<\/p>\n As with Iran, Americans appear to be at odds with the president on the economy. A recent Financial Times survey found that a majority of respondents believe economic conditions have worsened under Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n Southern border<\/p>\n Trump said he had immediately resolved what he described as an uncontrollable situation at the U.S.-Mexico border<\/a>, and complained that the achievement had received too little attention.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I came in, the border \u2014 they would allow 25 million people,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n \u201cI solved the problem in 30 days and solved it beautifully in 60,\u201d Trump said. He claimed that \u201czero people came in\u201d through the southern border in the past 16 months. U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently said that zero releases<\/a> had occurred at the border in 15 months.<\/p>\n![\"President](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2289908104-(1).jpeg\")
President Donald Trump talked about Iran, the economy and mending fences during his first public conversation with Michael Cohen, his former fixer, in eight years (Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"Cohen\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2167636905...jpeg\")
Cohen\u2019s relationship with Trump collapsed after he called the president a \u2018con man\u2019 in 2019 and later testified against Trump in his New York hush-money trial (Getty)<\/p>\n![\"To](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026-07-22T162734Z_233594844_RC24JMAE41RD_RTRMADP_3_IRAN-CRISIS-TRANSFER-USA.JPG\"){kind=spacer}
To date, 18 US service members have died in the Iran war, and hundreds have been wounded, according to the Pentagon (Reuters)<\/p>\n![\"During](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2279337574...jpeg\")
During the interview, the president called the US economy a \u201crenaissance,\u201d despite polls showing most Americans are concerned about the direction the economy is moving in (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n![\"\u2018I](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2288414349...jpeg\")
\u2018I solved the problem in 30 days and solved it beautifully in 60,\u2019 Trump said of illegal crossings at the southern border (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n