'Didn't have the guts': Trump shames Michael Cohen for shunning courtroom face-off

'Didn't have the guts': Trump shames Michael Cohen for shunning courtroom face-off
(Photo of Trump by Gage Skidmore/Flickr Michael Cohen MSNBC screengrab)

Donald Trump is calling his former lawyer Michael Cohen a coward for failing to face him in court – a decision Cohen says was due to an injury that has left him in pain.

Trump was in court Tuesday despite being separately called for a deposition in the case of two fired FBI agents, Lisa Page and Peter Strzok. Cohen along with other former Trump Org employees, are witnesses in the New York fraud case that's expected to continue for a few more weeks.

The former president needled his ex-lawyer outside the courtroom, saying that he "didn't have the guts" to appear, ABC News reported. However, it doesn't mean that Cohen won't appear at all throughout the case – he told Raw Story that he still intends to give testimony.

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“Unfortunately, I need to attend to a pre-existing medical condition that impedes my ability to testify this upcoming week," Cohen said in a statement last week. "Rest assured, I will testify at the earliest opportunity.”

“I am thankful the medical condition, while incredibly painful, does not require an immediate procedure," said Cohen in an update to Raw Story Monday. "I anticipate appearing as soon as the pain subsides. When I do testify, I am certain Donald will be in attendance, sitting with his lawyers at the defendant’s table."

While Cohen hasn't given specifics, the implication is that he might be using pain medication. His testimony might then be called into question.

“If I was afraid of Donald, I wouldn’t have written two New York Times bestsellers, testified before the Mueller team, seven congressional committees, 23 appearances before the Manhattan DA, and provided information to the [New York attorney general] that is the basis of this trial. Looking forward to seeing you in court very soon!” he text messaged Raw Story Tuesday.

He also said he's feeling "lousy."

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At least five people were killed, and one remains missing after a Mexican Navy aircraft crashed off the Gulf Coast near Galveston, Texas, on Monday, officials said.

The small plane was carrying eight people when it went down near the Texas coastline, roughly 50 miles southeast of Houston. According to the Mexican Navy, five people died in the crash, two survived, and one person remains unaccounted for as search and rescue operations continue.

The aircraft was conducting a humanitarian mission focused on specialized medical transport, the Navy said. Multiple outlets reported that the aircraft was attempting to land in heavy fog at the time of the incident. Local authorities and the U.S. Coast Guard are coordinating response efforts alongside Mexican officials.

While the cause of the crash remains under investigation, Shriners Children’s Texas issued a statement acknowledging the incident involved a young child on the way to the hospital’s burn center.

“It is with profound sadness that we learned of a child involved in a plane crash while being transported for burn care in Galveston this afternoon,” the hospital said. “Shriners Children’s Texas prides ourselves on caring for children from all over the world. Having not admitted this patient, we are unable to provide any information about their condition and kindly defer all future inquiries to the Mexican Navy, whose care the child was under when this unfortunate accident occurred.”

U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson said in a Truth Social post Monday night that the United States is “working closely with the Government of Mexico following the tragic aircraft accident off the coast of Texas.”

“We extend our deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives, and our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected,” he wrote. “We will continue to support ongoing efforts.”

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Sparks flew on CNN’s “NewNight” on Monday as a panel discussion about Vice President JD Vance and growing fractures within the MAGA movement devolved into a heated on-air clash between conservative strategist Tim Parrish and progressive commentator Adam Mockler.

The confrontation erupted after host Abby Phillip pressed Parrish on recent infighting that developed at the Turning Point USA convention in Phoenix, where disputes over antisemitism and extremism exposed deep divisions inside the conservative movement. Phillip cited remarks from conservative figures that compared diversity initiatives to extremist ideology and asked whether that kind of rhetoric reflected the leadership Vance is offering as a standard-bearer for the MAGA movement.

“Don’t give me this idea that the vice president doesn’t believe we should have a country where everybody’s welcome,” Parrish, a Republican strategist, said in a forceful defense of Vance. But the segment took a sharp – and personal turn – when Parrish accused Democrats of hypocrisy, citing past inflammatory comments from a Virginia political figure that he said went largely unchallenged by the left.

“You talked about how we weren’t applying this properly across the board, when it was dead silent – you dead silent,” Parrish told Mockler, while pointing at him.

“Me?! What are you talking about, dude? You don’t’ know me!” Mockler, a Gen Z podcast host, quickly shot back, as the two spoke over one another during the tense back-and-forth.

Parrish continued: “So don’t talk to me now, don’t try to lecture us and lecture the American people about equality and what’s fair and who should be allowed in the party after your party sat silent after those words. It’s actually sickening, and it’s angering.”

Mockler argued that Vance has avoided directly confronting extremist elements within the movement.

"JD Vance has played fast and loose with this movement the entire time because he doesn’t want to alienate the movement,” Mockler said, before ripping into CNN conservative Scott Jennings.

Phillip ultimately stepped in to regain control.

Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to force the removal of President Donald Trump’s name from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, arguing that the move violated federal law and the Constitution.

The lawsuit, filed in D.C. federal court, names Trump and several loyalists he appointed to the Kennedy Center’s board as defendants. Beatty contends that the board’s vote last week to rename the Washington, D.C., cultural institution was illegal because only Congress has the authority to change the center’s name.

Norman Eisen, Beatty’s attorney and a former White House ethics counsel under former President Barack Obama, said the name change “violates the Constitution and the rule of law because Congress said this is the name.”

“The President and his sycophants have no lawful authority to rename the Kennedy Center,” Eisen added in a statement.

Trump, whose board installed him as its chair, sparked the lawsuit after his name was added to the exterior of the building Friday morning. The storied institution’s website and social media accounts soon followed and began referring to it as the “Trump Kennedy Center,” according to reports. A senior White House official previously told The New York Times that the administration rejects the argument that congressional approval is required and does not expect lawmakers to intervene.

Beatty, who brought the lawsuit in her capacity as an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center’s board, said she attempted to object during the meeting when the name change was approved – but was unable to do so.

“Everything was cut off,” Beatty said of the call, according to the Times. “And then they immediately said, ‘Well, it’s unanimous. Everybody is for it.’”

In a statement Monday, Beatty called the episode a “complete disgrace.”

“Only Congress has the authority to rename the Kennedy Center,” the lawmaker said. “President Trump and his cronies must not be allowed to trample federal law and bypass Congress to feed his ego. This entire process has been a complete disgrace to this cherished institution and the people it serves. These unlawful actions must be blocked before any further damage is done.”

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