Michael Cohen Says Debate Time Was ‘Late’ for Joe Biden

Former President Donald Trump’s ex-lawyer Michael Cohen defended President Joe Biden on MSNBC’s Velshi on Saturday, saying that the debate’s “late” start attributed to the president’s dismal performance.

Amid mounting concerns of Biden’s age and mental acuity, Democrats hoped for a youthful and energetic performance when the president took the CNN debate stage in Atlanta.

However, during the 90-minute debate that started at 9 p.m. ET, the 81-year-old rambled through his administration’s current accomplishments and goals, and, as The Atlantic columnist Mark Leibovich on Friday wrote, “looked old, sounded old, and yes, is in fact very, very old.” A Biden aide, meanwhile, told Newsweek late Thursday night that the president was battling a cold during the debate.

Cohen, a loyal Trump ally turned fierce critic of the former president, told MSNBC’s Ali Velshi on Saturday, “This morning I was talking to a friend of mine and we were talking about the debate and Joe Biden looking very tired, which is what he looked.

“Something I think the American people really need to remember here is that while Trump, during the day of the debate, was contemplating on what he was going to eat for breakfast or which golf course he wanted to play golf at that day, Joe Biden was still running the country, and he was tired, and this thing started at 9 p.m. at night. And, so, yeah, I get it. He is 80. You know, I get it. He was tired. Probably they should have done it earlier, but 9 o’clock was late.”

Cohen told Newsweek via text message on Saturday, “While President Biden appeared tired, his mental acuity was sharp and precise. Contrast that with Donald, his opponent, who was energetic and replete with lies and inaccuracies. There is only one choice in the 2024 election for President and that is Joe Biden.”

In an Axios article published on Saturday, unnamed current and former Biden aides said that the president is mentally engaged from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., but outside of this time frame, he is more likely to have verbal mistakes and fatigue.

Trump, who is 78-years-old, has also faced scrutiny about his age and cognitive ability, albeit less so than Biden. The former president still got his fair share of criticism after the debate.

During the debate, Trump dodged many questions and had little to say on which exact policies he would enact if reelected. While there were misleading statements from both sides, the former president made more than Biden. CNN counted over 30 false statements made by Trump while the network said Biden made at least nine false or misleading statements during the debate.

“In Donald’s world of lies and deceit, it’s the way I saw the debate, Joe Biden is a beacon of truth,” Cohen told MSNBC Saturday.

Newsweek reached out to Biden and Trump’s campaigns via email on Saturday afternoon.

Cohen also mentioned the stark contrast between Biden’s debate performance and his fiery campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Friday. People on social media said Biden was energetic and coherent at Friday’s rally.

“The following day in North Carolina, you heard Joe Biden give the energy that we were hoping we were going to see during the debate. And he came out and he said, ‘I’m not a young man,’ and the crowd went wild, because it is true,” Cohen said. “Chanting, ‘Joe, Joe, Joe.’ And he says, ‘I don’t walk the way I used to. I don’t speak the way that I used to, and I don’t debate the way that I used to,’ and again, the crowd went wild for it.”

Cohen spent time in prison after pleading guilty to eight criminal charges, including campaign finance violations related to an alleged hush money scheme involving adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

Trump was found guilty last month on 34 counts of falsifying business records to hide hush money paid to Daniels shortly before the 2016 presidential election. Daniels alleged she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006, which he denies. The former president has maintained his innocence, and his legal team intends to appeal the verdict.

Cohen was a star witness for the prosecution during the hush money trial.

Update 6/29/24, 4:24 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Cohen.