Michael Cohen Vows to Leave US if Donald Trump Reelected

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Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property insurance market, local and national politics. She has previously extensively covered U.S. and European politics. Giulia joined Newsweek in 2022 from CGTN Europe and had previously worked at the European Central Bank. She is a graduate in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University and holds a Bachelor's degree in Politics and International Relations from Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy. She speaks English, Italian, and a little French and Spanish. You can get in touch with Giulia by emailing: g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.

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Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen has vowed to leave the U.S. if his ex-boss is re-elected next year, in an escalation of the rift between the previously close friends.

During a recent interview with Good Morning Britain's North America correspondent Noel Phillips, which was released on YouTube on Tuesday, Cohen was asked how he felt about the possibility of Trump being voted into a second term in the White House next year.

"That's a real problem," he said. "It's not only a problem for me, for journalists, for judges, for anyone that unfortunately Donald has ire towards, this could be a real problem not only again for us, but for American democracy and the future of this country."

"What would you do?" asked Phillips. "I'd leave the country," Cohen responded, adding that he fears for his safety and his life. "He [Trump] would exact revenge on anyone that has done him wrong," he said. "There's a lot of people on that list, it's not just me."

Michael Cohen
Michael Cohen returns to the courthouse after a break to resume trial where he is testifying against former US President Donald Trump in New York City on October 24, 2023. Cohen said he'd leave the... ALEX KENT/AFP via Getty Images

Cohen and Trump, once allies, had a spectacular falling out, marked by the former president's ex-lawyer guilty plea for tax evasion in a Manhattan federal court in 2018.

In previous comments made on several occasions, Cohen described Trump as a "cheat," a "liar," a "fraud," a "racist," a "predator" and a "conman." In response, the former president called him "a rat," "a liar" and "a stone cold loser."

Cohen was confronted by Phillips about breaking the trust Trump had in him after by testifying against the former president in multiple civil and criminal cases. "It's called accountability," Cohen said. "Donald Trump has somehow managed to avoid accountability his whole life, except for now. I didn't walk in and testify, just so you understand. I was subpoenaed to come in and testify, and unlike so many in Trump's orbit, I fulfilled my legal obligation and I went in and testified."

Asked if he wanted to see Trump locked up in jail, Cohen said he didn't. "I have great concerns that if in fact Donald Trump is locked down in an institution he would sell or give away national security secrets," he said, adding that he did want to see him held accountable.

Confronted about having previously lied to Congress, Cohen defended being a reliable witness, saying he was then "knee-deep in the cult of Donald Trump, very much like his lawyer right now."

Cohen admitted to lying under oath during a deposition in February 2019 and having lied to Congress in 2018 about work he conducted on Trump's behalf in a business deal in Russia. In February 2019, he falsely told prosecutors that Trump had not instructed them to inflate his net worth.

According to Cohen, MAGA supporters are still in the "cult of Donald J. Trump." He said that supporters don't really know the former president, adding that Trump "wouldn't cross the street to urinate on them if they were on fire."

Newsweek contacted Trump's 2024 campaign for comment by email on Wednesday.

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About the writer

Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property insurance market, local and national politics. She has previously extensively covered U.S. and European politics. Giulia joined Newsweek in 2022 from CGTN Europe and had previously worked at the European Central Bank. She is a graduate in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University and holds a Bachelor's degree in Politics and International Relations from Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy. She speaks English, Italian, and a little French and Spanish. You can get in touch with Giulia by emailing: g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.

Writers Page

Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property ... Read more