Michael Cohen, a former personal lawyer to Donald Trump, has set out why he believes Trump won’t run again in 2024. Cohen says it would “destroy the great grift”.
Since leaving office, Donald Trump has repeatedly messaged his supporters and begged for donations to fight his various legal woes or support his bid to fight “the great lie”.
Once someone announces they are running for office, any money they raise through campaigning or political action committees (PAC) becomes subject to rigorous protocols. In short, it should only be used for campaigning purposes. At the moment, as he’s not a candidate, Trump can spend almost all the money raised however he likes.
Talking to MSNBC’s Ali Velsh, Cohen said, “It would destroy the great grift. If he runs, all the money would then have to go into a campaign fund. People would have to start expressing who they are, and it becomes listed. They don’t want that any more than he wants that.”
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He continued, “It’s a slush fund. He can buy himself a new airplane, or he can use the money to fix his old airplane right now.”
Related: Trump’s ex-attorney Michael Cohen makes his debut on OnlyFans with gay adult film star
Cohen was formerly a Trump acolyte. However, he ended up serving a three-year jail sentence for campaign finance violations committed while working for Trump, and for lying to Congress. He has since become sharply critical of Trump.
Cohen has previously called Trump’s constant teasing about running again a bluff.
He told Insider recently, “His insatiable need for attention is one reason he continues to flaunt this disingenuous 2024 run. The other is he’s making more money doing that than anything he has ever done before.”
Cohen is doing the media rounds to promote his new book, Revenge: How Donald Trump Weaponized the US Department of Justice Against His Critics. On Friday, he appeared on NBC News to talk about the subpoena Trump received from the January 6 committee.
He was asked why more of those closely aligned with Donald Trump didn’t speak out against him.
“It’s because we’re stupid. For some reason, we fell into the cult of Donald J. Trump,” Cohen said.
“There’s a lot of excitement. There’s a lot of energy around it. When he needs something from you, he makes you feel as though you are the single most important person in the world. And that only you are capable of doing something.”
However, he had a warning for those who continue to back Trump and support him in his more outlandish claims.
“I know the game that you’re playing, and it’s not going to work out for you,” Cohen said. “The same way it didn’t work out for me. You can’t run this playbook, especially against me because I wrote it.”
Related: Looks like another one of Trump’s lawyers has had to hire her own lawyer after the Mar-a-Lago mess
According to a report on Bloomberg News yesterday, Donald Trump raised $24million in the third quarter. This was a 41% increase on the second quarter, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.
However, Trump also claims to have spent $22million on fundraising appeals (SMS messages, adverts, etc). This means he spent 91 cents for every dollar raised.
Paul Ryan suggests Trump will be unelectable by 2024
Cohen’s assertion that Trump won’t run in 2024 follow similar comments from former Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.)
“I think Trump’s unelectability will be palpable by then,” Ryan said in an interview with CEO advisory firm Teneo last week. Ryan is the vice chairman of Teneo.
“We all know that he will lose. … We all know that he is so much more likely to lose the White House than anybody else running for president on our side of the aisle, so why would we want to go with that?
“The only reason he stays where he is is because everybody’s afraid of him. They’re afraid of him going after them, hurting their own ambition. But as soon as you get the herd mentality going, it’s unstoppable.”
DCguy
But if he doesn’t run he is subject to possible arrest. He will probably stretch out the grift for as long as possible, then announce he’s running close to election time.
LumpyPillows
He thinks he needs to run to shield himself from the law. It worked while he was president.
abfab
Hopefully he’ll croak first, the miserable tub of lard.
LumpyPillows
On this we agree.
Rambeaux
Yeah. Let’s believe everything that this slimebag has to say.
He lived up Trump’s a** for a long time.
So, now he’s a saint? Nope.
LumpyPillows
You’re reasoning is flawed. Besides, no one claims he’s a saint. He doe know Trump better than billions of other people.
bachy
It would be great if this were true, but as with all things Trump, I really wouldn’t count on it.
Jeremiah
I feel like we are “damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t”. I’m afraid if he doesn’t then DeSantis will have an easy time beating Biden or whoever the Dem ends up being. Trump has a lot of negative baggage to help drag him down.
Creamsicle
Seriously. Since when has breaking the law stopped Trump and his associates? The fact that this speculation is coming from his longtime “fixer,” who signed up to be the patsy should anyone actually begin to scrutinize the Trump Org. should really say a lot here.
Trump will break the law and then employ his delay tactics, so that it takes at least 3 years before he can plead the 5th and generally just burn through money long enough that his misbehavior gets eclipsed by the next story in the news cycle. It’s worked his entire adult life. Why would he stop now?
Den
What Ryan and Cohen not taking into account is how much energy Trump has put into supporting candidates for governors and secretaries of state, and how he has tried to encourage modifications to election rules at the state level. I believe he intends to run and make sure the election is rigged, or “secure” as the pro-authoritarian faction calls it. The most important aspect of the current investigations and indictments is that Trump’s ability to run for future office is taken away from him!
Jimmynj
Trump and everyone who aided him need to be in prison for the numerous crimes committed. Trump is just trash with alleged money.
johncp56
Lock him up in Mar-A-Lardo and turn the power off, until he pays his bills