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Former Trump fixer Michael Cohen joined a number of Republicans who deserted his former boss at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, joking that he would speak to Kamala Harris’ audience in Chicago “if they let me.”
Cohen and a group of former Trump voters and anti-Trump Republicans, including the former president’s former press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, were in Chicago on the second night of the convention.
The former Trump ally, who was not invited to speak, was most recently in the spotlight when he testified in the former president’s hush money trial, in which Trump was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Cohen paid porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 in hush money to keep quiet about an alleged affair ahead of the 2016 election. Trump wrote the repayments to Cohen off as legal expenses.
Cohen told the jury that Trump instructed him to make the payment before the election and that the repayment was not authorized until after his victory. Trump continues to claim that he paid Cohen for legitimate legal transactions.
Before the trial, Cohen told MSNBC that he had received numerous death threats from Trump supporters.
“It’s about witness intimidation and harassment,” Cohen told the network. “What is his goal? Again, it’s to incite these supporters … to prevent me from appearing before the Manhattan District Attorney in this upcoming trial. He doesn’t want to face responsibility at any cost.”
At the Democratic National Convention, Cohen said: The Washington Times that he was worried about the future of the country if Trump was re-elected.
“I fear for my children. I fear, God willing, for my grandchildren if I am lucky enough to live that long,” he told the newspaper. “I fear for our democratic republic when someone wants to be president of the United States and says things like, ‘I want to rewrite the Constitution.’ Do you really think that idiot could rewrite the Constitution?”
“If he says he wants to destroy our three-party system and give himself all the power, what do you think will ultimately happen in this country? Because the answer will be the end of our democratic republic,” he added.
Cohen spent time in prison after pleading guilty to violating campaign finance laws, tax fraud and lying to Congress.
He told The Washington Times that he was invited to the convention by members of Congress, but did not specify who it was. He added that he strongly supports Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
Cohen is not the only former Trump ally appearing at the DNC.
Stephanie Grisham, a former Trump press secretary and adviser who is now a critic, said Trump mocks his supporters behind closed doors, calling them “basement dwellers.”
“I wasn’t just a Trump supporter. I was a true believer,” Grisham said, adding that during a hospital visit “when people were dying in the intensive care unit, he was angry because the cameras weren’t watching him. He has no compassion, no morals, no loyalty to the truth.”
“He always told me, ‘It doesn’t matter what you say, Stephanie. Say it often enough and people will believe you,'” the former press secretary said.
She added that she resigned on January 6, 2021 because she “could no longer be part of this madness.”
Other Republicans scheduled to speak at the DNC include former Trump White House national security official Olivia Troye, former Illinois state Rep. Adam Kinzinger and former Georgia Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan.
Republican Mayor of Mesa, Arizona, John Giles, said at the convention: “Trump made a lot of lofty promises: unlimited economic growth, reviving American industry, securing borders. It turns out Donald Trump was all talk. He wanted our votes, but he couldn’t deliver.”
Addressing Americans “from the political center,” Giles said: “John McCain’s Republican Party is no more, and we owe absolutely nothing to what was left behind.”
