Donald Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, has described a hand gesture that the former President makes when he is lying. Mr. Cohen said that the “accordion hands” Trump employs when speaking means he is not telling the truth. “It’s a tell with Donald,” he added. The former President’s habit of placing his hands in front of him and moving them together and apart as though playing an accordion has become a source of mockery and is frequently used by people making Trump impressions. Cohen advised viewers to watch out for this when his former employer takes on Vice President Kamala Harris in their upcoming September debate.
Speaking to reporters, the attorney discussed the debate and commented that Trump’s team wants microphones off when he is not talking because they don’t trust him to stay disciplined or avoid mumbling things under his breath that the mics will pick up. He said Mr. Trump would be unable to contain himself and “stay normal” for 90 minutes.
Sowing doubt as to whether or not the debate will go ahead is also “part of Trump’s playbook,” Cohen said, adding that the former President publicly raises doubts about his participation because he wants the debate to go his way and to inject doubt about its legitimacy in the event that it doesn’t. Trump has suggested that ABC News, the network that will host the event, is “fake” and will stack the odds against him. “He wants to control all the levers,” Cohen said.
Michael Cohen was the attorney at the center of Trump’s “hush money” scandal and told a court that the former President directed him to pay $130,000 to adult film Stormy Daniels to buy her silence about an alleged sexual encounter with Mr. Trump. The payment was then recorded as a legal expense, leading to falsifying documents charges against Mr. Trump and his conviction in May. Cohen testified that Trump knew the payment was falsely recorded, saying nothing took place in Trump’s companies without his approval.
Crucially, he also testified that Trump wanted the alleged affair covered up because of the damage it could do to his election campaign and not to conceal it from his wife. “He wasn’t thinking about Melania,” Cohen said.
