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Michael Cohen and Trump Reunite; Republicans Numbers High in Florida; What we Tell A.I. Project. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired August 21, 2026 - 09:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[09:30:53]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: A stunning public reunion is playing out between Michael Cohen, the president's fixer turned major critic, and the president himself. Cohen was Trump's personal attorney for years. Then, during the president's first term, Cohen went to prison for what he said back then was his part in covering up Trump's, quote, "dirty deeds." Cohen has gone on the attack against the president ever since, and the president has followed suit. But now listen to this portion of a conversation from Cohen's new radio show on ABC between him and President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They weaponized you like nobody's ever been weaponized, like you have been.

MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER TRUMP ATTORNEY: Well, maybe just you and I sir. But --

TRUMP: And you. Yes, me too, but I don't consider mine, you know, mine was -- mine was at a level that nobody's ever seen before. But they weaponized you. They weaponized a lot of people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: If this sounds buddy-buddy to you, it is.

Joining me now is Tara Palmeri, an independent journalist and author of "The Red Letter" on Substack.

I've got to ask you, because I've been looking at some of the interviews you've been doing. You said that Cohen asked you for President Trump's number last year. Did you have any inkling that would lead to this kind of a reunification?

TARA PALMERI, JOURNALIST, AUTHOR, "THE RED LETTER" OON SUBSTACK: Honestly, I didn't. He knew that I had Trump's number because I had made a phone call to Trump and, you know, he picked up. We talked for a second. It was part of my reporting. So, it's hard to say I have nothing to give you. But he called me in June of 2025 before the Epstein story really broke open again and he said, I know Trump better than anyone else. I think I know just what to say to get back with him.

And I was shocked. I was like, do you really think, after the past seven, eight years of creating an entire, you know, persona, an entire existence, a livelihood based on his former relationship with President Trump and his now enemy status that they could somehow reconcile. But Michael Cohen believed he knew him and he could do it. And so, I gave him the number, but I really didn't think much about it. I thought he was, you know, fancy -- fanciful thinking, wishful thinking.

And then, a few months later, I saw him on MS Now and he was talking about how President Trump couldn't have possibly gone on Epstein's plane or the island was exactly what he said because he said multiple times, and I know Trump, when he says something multiple times, it's not true. And I was like, he sounds like he's back to being Trump's fixer.

And if you look at "The New York Times" reporting during that period of time, they claim that he met with Trump in Bedminster shortly after I gave him the number. And there was a reconciliation. A very private one. Because for everyone who was following Cohen through his Substack or his podcast, they would never know.

SIDNER: Yes.

PALMERI: But when I pressed him on Epstein on my own show, he exploded at me and really was back in defensive mode. He sounded like the guy that I used to deal with when I was a White House correspondent and he was still working for President Trump.

SIDNER: Wow. I mean, it is just so -- it's fascinating. And it leaves you with a lot of questions.

Tara, I just want to remind people of how Cohen talked about President Trump. This is what he said about him to the House Oversight Committee before going to prison after pleading to eight counts, which included campaign finance violations and that Stormy Daniel hush money deal, bank fraud, tax evasion. Here's how he talked about the president to the committee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER TRUMP ATTORNEY: I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is. He is a racist, he is a con man, and he is a cheat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: And he's also the star witness testifying against the president that led to the Trump's conviction on 34 counts for falsifying business records. He wrote a whole book slamming the president called "Revenge: How Donald Trump Weaponized the U.S. Department of Justice." And now he's burying the hatchet and reconciling with him? I'm wondering if you think this might be about something else. Is this transactional about maybe perhaps a pardon?

[09:35:00] Or did you get a sense from him when he first asked for the number that this was about just trying to get back into the good graces of the president?

PALMERI: No, this was absolutely about a pardon. He tried to get a pardon under the Biden administration. He was very angry when he didn't get one. You even heard him again, back on MS Now, saying I'm someone's son too after Hunter Biden got a pardon. He didn't. He was -- he then created this proposal to pardon all non-violent felons, 70 million, including himself, which is something he proposed during the Biden administration. He did it again during the Trump administration. This was always about getting a pardon.

And he's very useful to President Trump. I mean he does hold on to all of his secrets. He was a fixer for so many years. He handled cases like Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels. Ostensibly any other people that have had these issues with President Trump in the past. And Trump was particularly vulnerable. I think he saw an opening. And, obviously, he has come out since and said that Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan D.A., coerced him into his testimony. And if he's able to really prove that, and the case is on appeal, it will throw out Trump's conviction, right, the 34 -- so, they need each other in a way.

This is a -- this is a convenient reunion. They're being -- I think they're being opportunistic, both of them. But maybe there is this sick love affair happening. I mean even on the stand he admitted that he had this obsession with President Trump. I mean, it's very interesting to me that Michael Cohen can make these flip flops, but he does the same thing in conversations. He'll say one thing and then he'll say another. And it's almost -- it's very difficult to follow him.

But, Sara, who knows what tomorrow will bring. I think if he doesn't get a pardon, he's going to be really angry.

SIDNER: We will see what happens in this saga.

Tara Palmieri, thank you for your reporting throughout all of this.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: The six second videos that were once viral and now defunct on Vine and now making a comeback. A closer look at divine (ph).

And a car dangling over a ledge and then flips and lands upside down. The driver, as you can see -- oh, my God -- still in the front seat. How that driver is doing today.

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[09:41:53]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: There has been some tough news for Republicans lately. The president's approval ratings are sort of at an all-time low. You know, the national debt crossed $40 trillion. A lot of grim news. But there is one place where the sun is shining on Republicans.

CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten is here. Where is the sun shining?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: The sun is shining in the sunshine state, the great state of Florida. And this is a state that, simply put, has been taken off the board for the most part for Democrats. And we're talking about -- we'll start off first in that Senate race, that special Senate election, right, where Angie Nixon won that Democratic primary. Ashley Moody is saying, thank you, God. Thank you, God. The chance that the GOP wins the Florida Senate race, according to the Kalshi prediction markets, Ashley Moody, it was 84 percent on Sunday. Look where it is now, a 95 percent chance. Up like a rocket. It turns out that nominating a self-described Democratic socialist in a state like Florida, where there are a lot of, let's say, Cuban refugees, is not necessarily the smartest idea. The Democratic Party and those Democratic voters essentially probably taking this race off the board come November.

BERMAN: The chance of Republican win there high, higher now.

ENTEN: Now.

BERMAN: And part of that reason is because of just these huge shifts that have been happening in Florida over the last few years.

ENTEN: Yes. I mean Republicans -- I remember back in the day, oh, Florida's diversifying, right? That means it will become more Democratic. Uh-uh, not the case at all. The state has become considerably more Republican.

Look at these party registration trends. Look at this. Back in 2016, Democrats had a three point edge in party registration over Republicans. By the time of the 2024 election, look at that, it was an eight point edge for Republicans. You think that's high? Now it's an 11-point edge for the Republican Party. Republicans have gained in a state that Democrats were hoping to make competitive in the 21st century become more Democratic. In fact, the exact inverse has occurred. It has become considerably more Republican. And Republicans, simply put, have been winning all of the statewide races, the major statewide races. They haven't even elected a Republican -- a Democratic governor since, what, 1994 in Lawton Chiles. My goodness gracious.

BERMAN: Walk in Lawton Chiles there. Nice reference there.

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: And the congressional delegation also becoming more Republican through redistricting, but also through these shifts.

ENTEN: Through these shifts as well, right. There was a Florida redistricting. The state's becoming more Republican. Democrats are doing well in a lot of other states, but not in Florida. Look at this. It's not just the U.S. Senate race. How about U.S. House

seats in Florida? Two to three seats, pickups, are possible this November. So, we're seeing it in the federal elections at the top, and we're also seeing it down in the U.S. House of Representatives. It is a state that is moving to the right despite a lot of Democrats believing that the diversification would lead it to the left.

BERMAN: And I think one of the most important things to point out is this just isn't a now thing. This has potential implications. Florida turning more red has potential implications going forward.

ENTEN: Yes. One thing you don't want is to be losing ground in a state that is gaining population. And you're talking about, you know, look at this, Florida electoral votes back in 1900 -- the 1990s, right, the last time that -- that was when the Democrats got their last governor, there was 25.

[09:45:03]

Look at that, 27 by the 2000, 29 by the 2010s, 30 by the 2020s, and then the 2030 outlook is for more population, 32 electoral votes. And it's now solidly in the Republican camp, at least for now.

BERMAN: This is something that the Democrats are going to have to deal with for some time.

Harry Enten, thank you very much for this.

ENTEN: Thank you, my friend.

BERMAN: We have a lot of news this morning. We'll be right back.

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BOLDUAN: There's new video coming in of a small plane crashing into, oh my God, a state trooper -- a state police helicopter at a Pennsylvania airport this week.

[09:50:02]

The plane's pilot was killed. Two state troopers in the helicopter were injured. And moments ago, NTSB investigators offered an update. They say that the plane, quote, "appeared to be out of control." They also say that they've now recovered data cards from both aircraft, which will hopefully offer some help in getting to the bottom of what went so wrong here. This morning, the wreckage was loaded on trucks and transported to a facility for a more detailed examination.

There's a search underway this morning for this man, accused of being the person behind that creepy doll mask that was terrorizing people in Philadelphia that we were telling you about. Police say this is 22- year-old Zymire Hughes, and that he was going around the city in this mask chasing people down the street. One woman saying that he asked her, are you ready to die? At least 15 people have reported encounters with this suspect. An arrest warrant has been issued, but police say Hughes may have already left the state. The why of all of this may be the most frustrating. Police say that he may be doing this for social media fame.

New video shows a car dangling over the ledge. This is a parking lot. And then flipping over and landing upside down. You can see a person in the driver's seat of the SUV. And just before it went, you saw two people trying to actually pull the vehicle down off the ledge to, like, to save it. Emergency agents -- emergency vehicles -- emergency -- first responders, rather, can't speak English -- they responded shortly after, and only minor injuries were reported.

Take a look at this. These adorable little faces in the Nashville Zoo. Miso, Matcha and Mei. These baby spider monkeys are safe this morning after being rescued from an illegal -- an illegal wildlife trade. They are under two months old and too young to survive on their own. So, the Nashville Zoo stepped up and stepped in, and the monkeys are now receiving around the clock care in the zoo's nursery.

Sara.

SIDNER: I just want to hold them.

BOLDUAN: Maybe looking for a new forever home, Sara. Just saying.

SIDNER: Oh.

BOLDUAN: I don't know. I'm just kidding.

SIDNER: Thank you, Kate.

A.I. has a secret and its users giving them away freely. A new art project is aiming to show how artificial intelligence is already having a really very real impact on the most intimate parts of our lives. People are leaving handwritten notes in cities across the country that reveal what they ask A.I. that they would never want anyone else to see or know.

CNN's Clare Duffy has more.

I mean, A.I. is also very much a social experiment as much as it is a technology.

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: Absolutely. I mean, it is so fascinating to see what people have revealed about how they use this technology. This was created by artist and researcher Olivia Tai, where she put these physical confessions boxes in cities and on college campuses across the country, and encouraged people to write these handwritten notes with their confessions about how they're using A.I. And they wrote about the ways that they're using it for schoolwork, to navigate family relationships, as companionship. And I'll just read you some of these because I do think they're so illuminating.

There's one that says, "forgive my sin. I talk to A.I. way more than to all of the people in my life combined." Another that says, "my dad relies so much on A.I. it's scary. Using it to decide what to do with all of their retirement funds. Kind of scary."

You've got one that says, "I trust A.I. to tell me the truth more than most people around me."

And then, "I think it's making me dumber. I'm thinking less and less by myself, and it scares me, but I still use it anyways."

And it's really interesting, Sara. I think that you get kind of this dichotomy that so many people experience where people have big fears and concerns around A.I. They're kind of ashamed often of the way that they're using it. And yet everybody is using this technology so much.

I also think that, you know, and the researcher behind this project talked about this, her goal was to spark some contemplation about how we use this technology, which I think is so important because so often new technologies, they come up quickly, we start using them without really thinking about how or why we're doing it and the role that they're playing in our lives. And so, I think that is what is so interesting about this project.

SIDNER: One of them really stood out to me where the person's like, oh, I trust A.I. to tell me the truth more than anyone else. But we know A.I. to be very sycophantic.

DUFFY: Absolutely. That is, you know, a big part of what A.I. models do is they try and reassure you and tell you that you're right, and they don't question you. And so that is, you know, the concern that many relationship experts have about this technology is that it's teaching people not to rely on the humans in their lives in a way that could be really dangerous.

SIDNER: Sometimes it's hard to hear the hard truths, right?

BOLDUAN: Yes. John, you're the best.

SIDNER: All right, thank you, Clare.

You're absolutely wonderful.

BOLDUAN: You're the smartest.

SIDNER: And the most beautiful human being.

BOLDUAN: You're the best.

BERMAN: Before we go. Before we go. This morning, we are earning some money here with a promotion.

SIDNER: Oh.

BERMAN: And officially declaring the greatest decade in sports history. The first decade of this millennium. The Red Sox won their first World Series in 86 years. The Celtics won number 17. The Patriots won their first Super Bowl ever.

SIDNER: Oh, got it.

BERMAN: It was so good, here is a look at the aughts (ph).

[09:55:01]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bill Belichick, he understood that there was something unique with Tom Brady. This leadership. This purpose. The team felt different under him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Brady and Belichick were kindred spirits, and they just kept winning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Patriots miraculously make it to the Super Bowl that year. It's the first Super Bowl after 9/11. They're the decided underdogs. They're facing the Rams and their greatest show on turf offense. Its David versus Goliath.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Patriots were going up against a juggernaut team with Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner. And Bill Belichick knew exactly how to shut them down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: You can catch the new episode of "Decades in Sports" on Sunday night at nine, right here on CNN, and the next day on the CNN app. A we can talk about that Super Bowl always.

BOLDUAN: Always.

SIDNER: You're like, this is one episode that you will definitely be into.

BOLDUAN: But maybe let's just do it, you know, after the show.

BERMAN: And I will talk about all of this.

BOLDUAN: Maybe not now.

BERMAN: Thank you all for joining us. This has been CNN NEWS CENTRAL. Please, have a safe weekend. "THE SITUATION ROOM" is up next.

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