Sycophancy in stereo as former Trump hater Michael Cohen loses his nerve

Fawning, deferential, oleaginous – this was the Untruth and Reconciliation Commission as Trump called in to 77 WABC “Our next guest is a ‘racist’, a ‘conman’ and a ‘cheat’ – someone who behaves more like a ‘mobster’ than a president. Please welcome Donald J Trump!” That is how Michael Cohen could have introduced Trump on his New York radio show on Thursday. After all, Cohen used such terms to describe the US president in his testimony to Congress in 2019. But now Trump’s former personal lawyer and self-described fixer had different words: “boss” and “sir”. Just like old times. Yes, the same Michael Cohen who claimed that Trump courted white supremacists and bigots and who arranged a $130,000 hush-money payment to the adult film star Stormy Daniels on his behalf. Trump, in turn, branded Cohen a “rat”. The mutual hatred was palpable. Yet here we were with the Untruth and Reconciliation Commission on 77 WABC radio. Cohen delivered one of the most deferential, fawning, oleaginous and sycophantic interviews in modern broadcasting history. He rolled out the metaphorical red carpet for Trump. He made appreciative noises in all the right places. He allowed the president’s lies to go unchal