President Donald Trump is terrified of Michael Cohen's public testimony because he understands the power of television in shaping public opinions, Trump biographer Tim O'Brien explained on MSNBC's "All In" with Chris Hayes on Tuesday.
"I saw some reporting the president -- he's in Vietnam -- will be staying up all night to watch Cohen's testimony," Hayes noted. "I got to think he's worried about this."
"Of course he's worried about it, because it's reality TV -- this is where he lives," O'Brien explained. "He's aware of the power that televised testimony has on people's imagination."
"It's much different than reading about it in a newspaper or seeing it in a court filing," he explained. "Someone on TV telling a narrative of something that occurs and resonates with people in a very rich way -- and he knows that because he made a living off of it."
"So of course he's worried about it," he added.
O'Brien is the author of TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald.
"He's never copped to the fact that he was in the Oval Office signing hush money payment checks," O'Brien explained. "It speaks to how flagrant the corruption in this administration is -- this is the most financially conflicted administration in the modern presidency."
"So he's reaching essentially into his own bank account to pay his lawyer to keep someone quiet about an affair he had while his wife was pregnant with their son," O'Brien concluded.
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