Michael Cohen
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Articles by Michael Cohen
Why many Jewish Michiganders are torn over Abdul El-Sayed’s Senate candidacy Original
Gilda Jacobs, president and CEO of the Michigan League for Public Policy, has been a Democrat her entire life, even once serving in the Michigan State Assembly. But in this year’s U.S. Senate race, pitting Democrat Abdul El-Sayed against Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers, she doesn’t know what to do. “I am so upset and conflicted that I even have to make this choice. It truly keeps me up at night,” said Jacobs. “There’s no way I can vote for Mike Rogers.
AMERICA AT 250: Leaders must choose: public duty or private convictions
America at 250 Zachary Taylor spent most of his life in service to the United States. His responsibilities in government posts, including the presidency, sometimes conflicted with his own opinions and interests. Like prior and future leaders, he had to choose between those two imperatives. At key moments, Taylor subordinated his private preferences to what he believed to be his public duty. Born in 1784 and raised in Kentucky, Taylor pursued careers in agriculture and the military.
The True Cost of Recovering from the LA Wildfires, Part 3
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Listen and follow The Wirecutter Show: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube | iHeartRadio | Other platforms In the final installment of this series, we examine the longer-term costs–the time, the money, and the emotional toll–that finding your feet after a natural disaster can take. Mike and his family are still displaced.
By Christine Cyr Clisset Verified, Caira Blackwell Verified, Rosie Guerin Verified, Abigail Keel Verified, Michael Cohen, Gregory Han
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Wirecutter
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The True Cost of Recovering from the LA Wildfires, Part 2
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Listen and follow The Wirecutter Show: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube | iHeartRadio | Other platforms In the second part of our series, we learn more about what’s happened to Wirecutter writers Mike Cohen and Gregory Han in the year since the LA wildfires. And how they both wish they’d better understood their insurance policies before the fires. Mike and Gregory both found temporary housing after the fires, but they soon needed to start replacing the things they use daily.
By Christine Cyr Clisset Verified, Caira Blackwell Verified, Rosie Guerin Verified, Abigail Keel Verified, Michael Cohen, Gregory Han
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Wirecutter
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Republicans are suddenly in a health care bind
The latest health care battle between Democrats and Republicans ended last week with a Democratic surrender. Eight Senate Democrats crossed party lines and voted to end the long government shutdown without achieving the party’s key demand: extending subsidies for millions of Americans who get their insurance through the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. But make no mistake: While Democrats may have lost this battle, they are in a reasonable position to win the war.
Opinion | Mikie Sherrill’s huge win in New Jersey shows running against Trump still works Original
New Jersey was supposed to be last night’s tough race for Democrats. An unpopular incumbent Democratic governor, Phil Murphy, combined with Trump’s 2024 over-performance, particularly with Hispanic voters, weighed heavily. Democrats whispered that the party’s nominee, Rep. Mikie Sherrill, was running an underwhelming campaign and perhaps wasn’t ready for the limelight of a statewide race. History was also working against Democrats.
Opinion | Democrats are winning the shutdown. Now comes the hard part. Original
On Oct. 1, Democrats shut down the federal government. Their goal was to force congressional Republicans to negotiate an extension for Obamacare premium subsidies. Unless Congress reaches such a deal, millions of Americans will pay significantly more for health insurance next year — a fact that is already becoming clear as Americans receive letters from their insurance companies alerting them to the premium spikes. In the meantime, the stakes of the shutdown deepen by the day.
Opinion | Red and blue states are in a redistricting arms race to the bottom Original
In June, Texas Republicans announced a plan to redraw the state’s congressional districts. The goal was clear: flip as many as five Democratic-held seats in the House of Representatives to the GOP. That revision, which was enacted in August, is already transforming American politics — and decidedly for the worse. Red and blue states are engaged in a redistricting arms race that risks creating, in effect, one-party red and blue states and further sharpening the country’s partisan divides.
Trump's boat strikes mock his claim to be a peacemaker Original
During the 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump infamously declared, “I am the candidate of peace,” and decried his opponent, then-Vice President Kamala Harris, as the candidate of “death and destruction.” Since taking office, Trump has continued to claim the mantle of peacemaker, even going so far as to actively lobby for a Nobel Peace Prize. But as is so often the case with Trump, the facts point in a different direction.
Opinion | Democrats think they can win a government shutdown. That's a lousy bet.
The Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu famously wrote, “He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.” Congressional Democrats would be wise to keep this maxim in mind. Under pressure from their loudest supporters to stand up to President Donald Trump, they are laying the groundwork to shut down the government at the end of this month.
Opinion | With Hyundai ICE raid, Trump bites the South Korean hand that’s feeding him Original
On Thursday afternoon, a Korean Air flight carrying more than 300 South Korean workers who’d been previously detained by U.S. immigration officials left Atlanta for South Korea. The flight ended a weeklong diplomatic tussle between the United States and the South Korean government that began when ICE officials raided a Hyundai-LG battery factory in Savannah, Georgia, and arrested nearly 500 people including hundreds of South Korean nationals.
New Trump polls are in and his deportation and economic agendas are backfiring
Right now, the biggest political story in America is the Jeffrey Epstein saga. But the most important political story in America is something else altogether — the cratering popularity of President Donald Trump. Look at any polling aggregator you want, Real Clear Politics, Nate Silver or Elliott Morris. They all agree: Trump is more unpopular than at any other point in his presidency, and the numbers are getting worse.
Trump’s odd 'Unabomber' story is just the latest example in a worrying trend
Earlier this week, President Donald Trump told a story that, even for the least honest president in American history, was notable. During an energy and technology summit in Pittsburgh, Trump claimed that his uncle John Trump, a former professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, taught the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski. “My uncle was at MIT, one of the great professors,” Trump said. “Fifty-one years, whatever. Longest-serving professor in the history of MIT.
Trump’s odd 'Unabomber' story is just the latest example in a worrying trend
The judge in the case said Trump failed to “plausibly” show that he and Woodward intended to be co-authors of an audiobook, or that Trump had any copyright interest in his responses. A federal judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit brought by President Donald Trump that attempted to sue Washington Post …
Trump and Noem’s attacks on FEMA make Texas floods all the more devastating
One truism of modern American politics is that politicians and voters love to trash the federal government…until they need the resources and expertise of the federal government. For months, President Donald Trump and his administration have floated the idea of doing away with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). “I think, frankly, FEMA is not good,” he told reporters in his first week back in the Oval Office.
Opinion | Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' will end America’s time as great power
If China’s leaders were sitting around plotting ways to undermine America’s long-term economic competitiveness and gave Chinese companies a leg up in developing the technologies of the 21st century, it’s quite possible — even likely — they would do precisely what Senate Republicans voted to do Tuesday.
Opinion | How Democrats undermined their own arguments about Trump’s war powers
Since President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. military to attack three of Iran’s nuclear sites, congressional Democrats have glommed on to one talking point — the president has violated the Constitution by taking the country to war. Trump’s Iran attack is “unauthorized & unconstitutional,” said the No. 2 Democrat in the House, Rep. Katherine Clark.
Mike Lee’s posts about Minnesota shootings draws deserved backlash Original
Over the weekend, as the political world was reeling from the shootings of two Democratic state legislators in Minnesota, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, took to social media — and is so often the case, posted something deeply inappropriate. The three-term lawmaker posted a picture of the suspect, Vance Boelter, with the caption “This is what happens.
Opinion | Pete Hegseth removed Harvey Milk's name from a U.S. Navy ship to send a message Original
June is nationally recognized as Pride Month — a yearly celebration of the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals to the rich tapestry of American history. The Pentagon, however, under the leadership of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, is marking Pride Month by offering a one-finger salute to the LGBTQ community. It’s part of a larger effort to whitewash the accomplishments and, arguably, the humanity, of women and minorities in the U.S. military.
Opinion | The uncomfortable truth about Democrats' problem reaching male voters Original
Over the weekend, The New York Times reported that Democratic donors are considering a $20 million “strategic plan” called “Speaking with American Men” that includes “study(ing) the syntax, language and content that gains attention and virality” in male “spaces.” The initiative is yet another example of Democrats trying to make sense of the 2024 election and, in particular, how they can win back male voters.
Opinion | There’s a reason Republicans want to hide what’s in their megabill Original
Early Wednesday, when most Americans were snuggled in their beds, Republicans in the House of Representatives were working hard to take away the health care of millions of Americans, blow a $3 trillion hole in the budget deficit and make the wealthiest people in America richer and the poorest Americans poorer. If this sounds like hyperbole, it’s not.
Opinion | A Georgia college student's plight makes a mockery of Trump's immigration claims
On Monday morning, Ximena Arias-Cristobal, a 19-year-old college student from Georgia, made an illegal turn on a red light. Now, through no fault of her own, she is facing the possibility of deportation — and in the Trump administration’s frenzy to rid the country of every undocumented immigrant, America is at risk of losing yet another young person chasing the American dream.
Opinion | A Georgia college student's plight makes a mockery of Trump's immigration claims
On Monday morning, Ximena Arias-Cristobal, a 19-year-old college student from Georgia, made an illegal turn on a red light. Now, through no fault of her own, she is facing the possibility of deportation — and in the Trump administration’s frenzy to rid the country of every undocumented immigrant, America is at risk of losing yet another young person chasing the American dream.
Mike Waltz out as Trump's national security adviser begs some important questions Original
Mike Waltz gave up one of the safer seats in Congress to serve as President Donald Trump’s national security adviser (Trump won the district by 30 points in November). In return, he was subjected to one humiliation after another before finally being shown the door 101 days into the job and given the consolation prize of a nomination to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
Opinion | Trump’s tariff ‘dealmaking’ reveals how the GOP has betrayed real conservatism Original
What if I were to tell you that not long ago — maybe 30 or 40 years in the past — there was a political party in America ideologically devoted to protecting the rule of law, restricting the power of the executive branch and limiting the intrusion of the federal government into the free market. This same party was supportive of free trade, immigration, a strong national defense and muscular internationalism. Could you figure out which party I was describing?
Opinion | The hate that targeted the Pennsylvania governor's mansion Original
On Saturday night, on the first night of Passover, an armed intruder hopped a gate at the residence of Pennsylvania’s Gov. Josh Shapiro and set fire to the building. It appears he did so because Shapiro is Jewish.
TRANSCRIPT: Michael Cohen on living under Trump
When we talked to former Donald Trump lawyer and confidant Michael Cohen last week, he spoke to us in a way few people can about how he’s dealing — very personally — with life under this regime. You’ll want to see the entire conversation, but what really struck us was his ability to look back on his own experience of misplaced loyalty (he went to prison on campaign finance charges stemming from the Stormy Daniels payoff scandal) to find lessons for us all about living bravely through this moment.
Opinion | A U.S. invasion of Greenland could actually happen
If you’d said to me three months ago that the United States could invade and occupy Greenland, I’d have likely checked your head for a tinfoil hat. But after Vice President JD Vance’s three-hour trip to a U.S. military base in Greenland, I’m starting to get concerned that Operation Arctic Freedom could be in the offing.
Opinion | A U.S. invasion of Greenland could actually happen
If you’d said to me three months ago that the United States could invade and occupy Greenland, I’d have likely checked your head for a tinfoil hat. But after Vice President JD Vance’s three-hour trip to a U.S. military base in Greenland, I’m starting to get concerned that Operation Arctic Freedom could be in the offing.
Opinion | Trump and the GOP’s desperate spin of the Signal scandal is pathetic
The White House, the Republican Party and their MAGA media mouthpieces think the American people are idiots. That’s the only explanation for the Trump administration’s ludicrous, insulting, borderline Orwellian response to the revelation that top national security officials were discussing a military strike in Yemen — and revealing what was very likely classified information about it — on the Signal messaging app with the unbeknownst presence of Jeffrey Goldberg, editor of The Atlantic.
Opinion | One simple way the Trump administration could stop losing in court Original
Republicans are very upset with the federal judiciary. As the number of injunctions against the Trump administration runs into the double digits — one of the latest indefinitely blocked Trump’s ban on transgender service members — the rage and name-calling is only getting worse. “This is tyranny. A small handful of marxist judges trying to run the entire country,” lamented Trump’s deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller.
Opinion | How Donald Trump helped save Canada’s Liberals
Most Americans are familiar with Canada, a country to America’s north that loves hockey, maple syrup and mispronouncing the word “about.” But by and large, they don’t pay much attention to our Northern neighbor and certainly not its politics.
Opinion | Trump’s presidency has already completely upended Canada’s elections
/ Updated UPDATE (March 9, 2025, 7:00 p.m. ET): On Sunday, former central banker Mark Carney became Canada’s next Liberal Party leader in a landslide victory. Most Americans are familiar with Canada, a country to America’s north that loves hockey, maple syrup and mispronouncing the word “about.” But by and large, they don’t pay much attention to our Northern neighbor and certainly not its politics.
Opinion | DOGE’s mass firings will only make government less efficient Original
Over the past two weeks, nearly 300,000 federal workers have lost their jobs. When all is said and done, it could amount to the largest job cut in American history. The Trump administration — notably Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency — has described these firings as cutting the fat within the federal government. In reality, they are likely to have a more destabilizing effect, fundamentally and perhaps irretrievably weakening the federal government and its workforce.
Francis Fukuyama Was Right About Liberal Democracy
3 hours ago Stocks Set to Open Higher as Investors Await Fed Minutes and U.S. Economic Data March S&P 500 E-Mini futures (ESH25) are up +0.28%, and March Nasdaq 100 E-Mini futures (NQH25) are up +0.36% this morning, with investors looking … 4 hours ago Editorial: Universal basic income fails another test There's a reason that ideas from the progressive ivory tower need to be tested.
Opinion | Trump and the GOP have boxed themselves into a corner
“Beware the Ides of March.” Those words were true for Julius Caesar more than 2,000 years ago, and while the outcome today is less dire, they are particularly relevant for President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans today. The Ides of March falls on March 15, and barring a congressional deal, it’s also the day a partial government shutdown could begin. Yet, Republicans are seemingly doing everything they can to ensure that happens.
Francis Fukuyama Was Right About Liberal Democracy
In 1989, Francis Fukuyama, a little-known Sovietologist and deputy director of the State Department’s Office of Policy Planning, published an article in a Washington journal, The National Interest, that made an audacious, epochal claim—that the world had reached “the end point of mankind’s ideological evolution and the universalization of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government.” With the rapid discrediting of communism, the great ideological struggles of the 20th...
Opinion | Trump and the GOP have boxed themselves into a corner
Those words were true for Julius Caesar more than 2,000 years ago, and while the outcome today is less dire, they are particularly relevant for President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans today. The Ides of March falls on March 15, and barring a congressional deal, it’s also the day a partial government shutdown could begin. Yet, Republicans are seemingly doing everything they can to ensure that happens.
Opinion | Trump and Musk’s assault on foreign aid puts national security at risk Original
After just two weeks in power, President Donald Trump and his top donor and adviser, Elon Musk, are declaring war on U.S. foreign aid. Within hours of taking office, Trump issued an executive order suspending all U.S. foreign assistance. Days later, Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a stop-work order for the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Then, the purge started. Dozens of USAID’s top leaders were placed on immediate leave.
Trump claims budget-slashing is popular. These polls disagree. Original
In the 10 days since Donald Trump took the presidential oath of office, he has flooded the proverbial zone with executive orders and ostentatious deportation raids, as well as the firings of Justice Department prosecutors and more than a dozen inspectors general. There have been so many outrages that it’s hard for Americans to keep track … that is until the White House Office of Management and Budget threatened to shut the federal spending spigot.
Fun February Festivals Worth Traveling For Original
By Michael Cohen less than an hour ago Participants take part in the 2024 South Beach Wine And Food Festival on Feb. 23, 2024, in Miami Beach, Florida. (Jason Koerner/Getty Images) Sign up for the Morning Brief email newsletter to get weekday updates from The Weather Channel and our meteorologists. Tired of the February doldrums and looking for a change of pace? If you can travel, these would be the peak festivals to visit around the country. Arizona Renaissance Festival Feb.
Opinion | Trump’s first executive orders preview his second administration’s chaos and cruelty Original
Just hours after taking the oath of office as America’s 47th president, Donald Trump signed dozens of executive orders putting his stamp on the federal government he now leads. While they signal a dramatic change in governing priorities, most are highly symbolic, and many are ultimately meaningless. Still, they provide a disquieting preview of the shambolic, lawless and cruel four years ahead of us.
Opinion | Biden’s best foreign policy decision started with telling the truth Original
Amid the highs and lows of Joe Biden’s presidency, one achievement stands out for both its importance and the lack of appreciation it has received. In August 2021, 20 years after U.S. troops first stepped foot in Afghanistan — and long after America’s vital national interests there had disappeared — Biden finally brought them home. Of all his foreign policy decisions, few brought Biden more grief than the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan — and few were more courageous or essential.
Opinion | Stop looking for someone to blame for Los Angeles’ tragic wildfires Original
The catastrophic fires in Los Angeles are far from extinguished, but the blame game is already raging. Apocalyptic images of entire communities returned to ash have been interspliced with a steady stream of critics engaging in a depressing and all too familiar spate of finger-pointing. Why wasn’t there enough water in the city’s water system to fight the blazes? Why did some city hydrants run dry? Why was the city’s firefighting budget cut?
Opinion | Elon Musk says government shutdowns aren’t a big deal. He couldn’t be more wrong. Original
Dec. 20, 2024, 4:09 PM UTC The federal government is on the brink of a shutdown — and the blame for this unexpected turn of events falls squarely on Republicans, in particular Elon Musk and Donald Trump.
How Syria’s Bashar al-Assad fell so quickly - and what the U.S. should do next Original
Dec. 9, 2024, 9:47 PM UTC For 83 years, Dec. 7 has been remembered as a day of infamy. After this weekend, that day will have a new legacy — a day of freedom, as one of the most brutal and repressive regimes in modern history disappeared. The liberation of Syria from the clutches of President Bashar al-Assad, after his family ruled the country for 50 years, is an unqualified good. How did it happen so quickly and so unexpectedly? And what comes next?
Opinion | Rule changes saved baseball — but the ‘Golden At-Bat’ idea is an abomination Original
Count me as one of those long-standing baseball fans who support every rule change of the past few years. The pitch clock? Love it! It’s shortened games and ended the interminable at-bats that turned baseball into three- to four-hour marathons. Getting rid of the infield shift ended the ridiculous situation in which a second baseman was perched halfway in the outfield.
Opinion | Republicans won big this year, but the data suggest its win streak may not last Original
Let’s be clear: The 2024 election was a bad outcome for the Democratic Party. They lost the White House and the Senate and missed a golden opportunity to win control of the House of Representatives. The Democrats’ defeat has led to a host of postmortems and renting on what went wrong and what the party needs to do differently going forward. But a deep dive inside the numbers suggests that while the election results were bad for Democrats, they aren’t quite as awful as they seem.
Opinion | This Thanksgiving, I'm actually grateful to be a Detroit Lions fan Original
Thursday is Thanksgiving Day, and a great American tradition will be served again — the Detroit Lions will be playing football. Every year, this gridiron contest has allowed Americans to come together and poke fun at one of the worst franchises in organized athletics … all the while spoiling many a Thanksgiving Day for Lions fans. But not this year. Win or lose on Thursday, we are living in the Lions Renaissance.
Opinion | Trump’s mass deportations would bring economic disaster Original
In a recent CBS News interview, incoming “border czar” Tom Homan was confronted with the question of whether the benefits of mass-deporting millions of undocumented immigrants were worth the cost. He responded with a question of his own, “What price do you put on national security?” It’s a question that Americans might be asking pretty soon themselves. Is the price of deporting millions of undocumented immigrants worth the cost?
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