On Witness Stand, Michael Cohen Admits To Calling Trump A ‘Cheeto-Dusted Cartoon Villain’

While testifying at Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial, Michael Cohen, his former lawyer, admitted that he ridiculed the former president repeatedly and explained why he stopped admiring him.

On Thursday, Trump’s attorney, Todd Blanche, continued his cross-examination in an attempt to discredit Cohen’s testimony against Trump.

The attorney asked Cohen about the many compliments he gave the former president when he was still his lawyer and the money Cohen had made from books and podcasts since he turned against him. 

Cohen wasn’t flustered when his statements were read back to him, and Trump barely reacted to his lawyer’s interrogation.

Regarding the ex-Trump lawyer’s first podcast in 2020, Blanche asked him if he called his former client a “Did you call Trump a ‘boorish cartoon misogynist’ and a ‘Cheeto-dusted cartoon villain’ on your podcast?” Blanche asked.

“Sounds like something I would say,” Cohen stated.

The attorney asked Cohen how much money he had made from his books, podcasts and the TikTok account he had created six months before.

The questioning suggested that Cohen had been making a living off of slamming Trump after losing his law license following his 2018 guilty plea to charges of campaign finance violations connected to the hush money scheme.

Blanche told the lawyer how his feelings about Trump changed in the summer of 2018 when he turned on the former president.

Cohen was asked if he had been “obsessed” with Trump. 

“I wouldn’t say obsessed,” he answered. “I admired him tremendously.”

“I can’t recall using that word,” he then admitted. “I wouldn’t say it would be wrong.”

Cohen also used his admiration to explain his shift, replying to many questions about the nice things he said about Trump and saying that during this time, he “was knee-deep into the cult of Donald Trump, yes.”

Blanche read a list of compliments the former Trump lawyer publicly gave Trump in 2015 and 2016, such as when he called Trump “a man who cares deeply about his family” and “a man who tells it straight.”

During the cross-examination, Blanche asked Cohen direct questions about when he was honest or dishonest when complimenting Trump.

“You were telling the truth, correct,” Blanche asked.

“That’s how I felt,” Cohen stated. “I was expressing my feelings, so yes, it would be the truth.”

Trump’s attorney pressed Cohen on his motivations since turning on the former president, implying that the lawyer is now being motivated by revenge and money.

Blanche had quoted an excerpt from the witness’ book Disloyal: A Memoir: The True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump to him.

“I wanted it all: power, the good life, public acclaim, fame, big deals, fast cars, private planes, the excess and glamor and zest for life,” he read.

“Those are my words, yes,” Cohen confessed.

During the cross-examination, Trump initially turned to Cohen when Blanche began but kept his eyes shut most of the time, seeming to zone out, with his mouth hanging open at some points.

In the morning, prosecutors finished their questioning of Cohen, having an elaborate discussion on his choice to stop being loyal to Trump – and to stop lying for Trump – when he pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2018.

The lawyer stated that he lied on the former president’s behalf to Congress in 2017 during the Russia investigation and that he was “misleading” when he told the Federal Election Commission about the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels in a 2018 letter.

According to Cohen, after the FBI took his phones and records during a search warrant in 2018, he “received a phone call from President Trump.” 

“I wanted obviously him to know what was taking place,” he admitted. “And he said to me, ‘Don’t worry. I’m the president of the United States. There’s nothing here. Everything’s going to be ok. Stay tough.'”

The lawyer said this was the last time he and the former president spoke.

Eventually, Cohen talked about how a conversation with his family in August 2018 inspired him to plead guilty and tell the truth about Trump.

“I made a decision based again on the conversation I had with my family that I would not lie for President Trump anymore,” he declared.

“I regret doing things for him that I should not have, lying, bullying people to effectuate a goal,” he added. “I don’t regret working with the Trump Organization. As I expressed before, some very interesting, great times. But to keep the loyalty and to do the things that he had asked me to do, I violated my moral compass, and I suffered the penalty, as has my family.”

While testifying on Monday, Cohen mentioned that Melania Trump, Trump’s wife, called his controversial comments on the Access Hollywood tape “locker room talk” after it leaked before the 2016 election.

After many conversations with Trump and other campaign staff members, the lawyer revealed that Melania wanted to “spin” the narrative surrounding the tape “to get control over the story and minimize its impact on [Trump] and his campaign.”

On Tuesday, Cohen also revealed that the former president was very confident he could replace Melania if she found out about her husband’s alleged affair with Daniels.