Michael Cohen, former personal attorney to Donald Trump, criticized the GOP frontrunner on Tuesday, asserting that Trump’s approach to debating is a repetition of old tactics. In an interview with CNN, Cohen described Trump’s recent hesitations about participating in presidential debates as predictable and consistent with his behavior since 2015.
Cohen argued that Trump’s maneuvering is an attempt to control the debate format to his advantage, particularly criticizing ABC News, the scheduled host for an upcoming debate. According to Cohen, Trump’s criticisms are driven by a desire to influence the debate’s control mechanisms, something he believes he can achieve with networks like Fox News, but not with others such as CNN or ABC.
Cohen speculates that Trump will participate in the debate despite his public reluctance and criticisms
Despite ongoing discussions about whether the debate will proceed as originally planned, especially with the adjustments following President Biden’s replacement at the top of the Democratic ticket, Trump has been vocal in his discontent. He has branded ABC News as biased and unfair, favoring a debate format he perceives as more favorable to him.
Cohen speculated that despite Trump’s public reluctance, he would eventually participate in the debate to avoid ceding the spotlight to Vice President Kamala Harris, who would otherwise have an opportunity to critique him unchallenged. Cohen humorously suggested that Trump might end up attending the debate to avoid Harris simply presenting a cardboard cutout of him and addressing it directly.
Cohen, who once served as Trump’s fixer, was sentenced to three years in prison for federal campaign finance violations and other charges. He has testified that many of these crimes were committed under Trump’s direction. In response to Cohen’s statements, Trump’s team referred to a social media post where Trump confirmed his debate participation while disparaging ABC News as “fake news.”
