Donald Trump's disgraced ex-fixer says he's convinced the former president won't run for the White House again - and that he&#...
Donald Trump's disgraced ex-fixer says he's convinced the former president won't run for the White House again - and that he's only teasing a second stint in office to keep donor cash flowing in.
Cohen, speaking to Meet the Press on Sunday, said that Trump will not run and merely hold on for as long as possible to collect money from donors and 'keep the grift going.'
The former lawyer turned Trump critic - who spent prison time for tax evasion and campaign finance violations - said that Trump is running the greatest grift in American history.
'Donald Trump has made it very clear, right, that he is grifting off of the American people, these supporters, these individuals that are just sending money to him at record levels,' Cohen told host Chuck Todd.
'It's really amazing that people don't see exactly what the guy is doing,' he added. In August, Trump was revealed to have raised more than $100 million from donors since leaving office, with that war chest likely to have swollen substantially since then.
President Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen is saying that Trump will not attempt to run again in 2024
Cohen, who spent time in prison for tax evasion and campaign finance violations, said that Trump is running the greatest grift in American history
Cohen, while promoting his book Disloyal and podcast Mea Culpa, referred to the former president as a sociopath.
'Please understand ... and this is really important for all of the viewers as well. One of the things Donald Trump has done is grift off of the 'Big Lie' that the election was stolen from him in 2020. It was not stolen from him.'
The former lawyer believes that Trump is using the possibility of campaigning to continue to complain about his belief that the election was stolen.
However, Cohen added, if Trump runs in 2024 and fails to win again, the 'Big Lie' would be taken away from him.
'If he loses, which he will in 2024, what happens to the "Big Lie?" The big lie disappears. He can't now be like the boy who cried wolf. 'Oh, they stole it from me in 2020 — they now stole it from me in 2024.' Right? Now, that goes out the door and there goes his money,' Cohen said.
Cohen, while promoting his book Disloyal and podcast Mea Culpa, referred to the former president as a sociopath
Cohen, seen here in 2016 speaking at a campaign stop in Ohio on behalf of Trump
Trump has yet to announce whether or not he'll run in 2024
He added that it will probably look like what Trump did in 2012, where he flirted with running for as long as possible before declaring he wouldn't.
Cohen, who was sentenced to three years prison in 2018 for federal tax fraud, has since become one of his former boss's staunchest critics.
He was freed from jail early because of the COVID pandemic, and now claims to be interested solely in ensuring Trump never returns to office.
Trump has rubbished Cohen's multiple lurid allegations against him, and highlighted his ex-fixer's criminal record for lying as evidence that Cohen cannot be trusted.
Trump has not yet announced a 2024 bid for president, often citing campaign finance laws as the reason he has avoided jumping in or revealing anything publicly. He does, however, often say that people will be 'happy' with his decision, in an apparent tease that he will run.
'Are you going to run again, Mr. President?' an officer asked Saturday.
'Oh, that's a tough question,' he joked. 'Actually, for me, it's an easy question.'
'I know what I'm going to do. But, we're not supposed to be talking about it yet from the standpoint of campaign finance laws, which frankly are ridiculous OK, if you want to know the truth. But we have to live with it.'
'But I think you're going to be happy,' Trump said. 'Let me put it that way OK. I think you're going to be very happy.'
Trump remains hugely popular among Republicans, and can hold out until late 2023 before making any firm decision.
Presidential candidates traditionally hold-off declaring their intentions as late as possible, to limit the length of their campaign, and the possibility of any damaging revelations about them emerging.
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