Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former “fixer,” is warning that the president may not be joking when he hints about wanting to stick around for more than two presidential terms.
During an interview on MSNBC, host Rachel Maddow asked Cohen if he has seen a change in Trump over the years.
“Is he — has that changed over time? Is he the same person when he speaks now that you recognize from your time working with him for all those years?” Maddow asked.
According to Cohen, a lot has changed about Trump since he became president and the powers that have come with the presidency have also fueled a desire for unlimited power.
“He’s not the same person that I knew going back years ago,” he claimed. “He was always gruff. He was always a certain way, but the power that he now has has gone to his head. He wants to be an autocrat. He wants to be the president of this country for life.”
He also insisted Trump admires the leadership of dictators and has a desire to become one, himself.
Cohen continued, “He wants to be just like [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, just like [North Korean dictator] Kim Jong-un, just like [Venezuelan President Nicolas] Maduro, he wants to be just like [Saudi Crown Prince] Mohammed bin Salman.”
See Cohen’s remarks below:
Since the former attorney claimed Trump does not have a sense of humor, he insisted that he typically means everything that he says.
“He doesn’t want to run for president. And that’s why he says ‘Well, what about twelve more years, twelve more years?’ He’s not joking. Understand, Donald Trump doesn’t have a sense of humor. He doesn’t laugh, he doesn’t tell jokes. He doesn’t have a sense of humor. He means it when he says it. And my book is intended to really open the eyes of the 38% base of his that no matter what Donald Trump does it’s acceptable to them.”
He added, “And he doesn’t care and they don’t care. And he wasn’t joking again when he said that he can kill someone on Fifth Avenue and get away with it. He means it.”
According to the U.S. Constitution, the Twenty-Second Amendment states that: “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.”
