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Listeners Weigh In On What Cohen, Manafort Mean For President Trump

President Donald Trump speaks during a rally Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2018, in Charleston, W.Va. (Alex Brandon/AP)
President Donald Trump speaks during a rally Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2018, in Charleston, W.Va. (Alex Brandon/AP)

On Tuesday, President Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to eight criminal charges, including campaign-finance violations. Minutes later, his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort was convicted of eight out of 18 counts.

While there's been ample analysis about what this all means for special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, voters from both sides of the aisle have also weighed in on how these developments influence their opinions of the president.

We heard from two in particular On Point Wednesday. And these callers went back and forth explaining and debating their points live on air.

Our caller Carl from Nashville, Tennessee, explained what Cohen's guilty plea meant for him, focusing on Cohen's statement to a federal judge that Trump directed him to buy the silence of two women who said they had affairs with Trump.

"I sit back in red-state Tennessee in total amazement at the 'evil-vangelical hypo-Christians' that support Donald Trump," he said. "The party of family values, the party of law and order, and they will sit back with a straight face and say that Donald Trump should not be indicted. If me or you committed this same crime, or even if [it was] suggested in federal court on the punishment of law that someone pointed at me or you as a co-conspirator, we are indicted. There’s no reason in the world why this man, Donald Trump, should be above the law."

Our caller Larry from Des Moines, Iowa, on the other hand, defended Trump's dealings with Cohen.

"I think it’s a pretty rough-and-tumble world we live in today, and I think politics is a pretty rough profession to be in," Larry said. "It’s certainly not something I’d want to do. I voted for Donald Trump. I’m 100 percent behind him. I think he’s a tough president, and he’s exactly what I want. As far as this midterm election thing, he’s doing exactly what I want him to do. Yes, he’s had a couple of bumps along the way, but, again, he’s trying, he’s working hard, he’s getting things done. As far as this situation with indicting him for paying money to a porno star, prostitute, whatever you want to call her, I think that’s totally ludicrous."

"If me or you committed this same crime, or even if [it was] suggested in federal court on the punishment of law that someone pointed at me or you as a co-conspirator, we are indicted."

On Point caller Carl

Larry was likely referring to Stormy Daniels, who allegedly had an affair with President Trump in 2006. While Daniels, whose birth name is Stephanie Clifford, has worked as a pornographic actress, she is not known to have worked as a prostitute.

The president, of course, has not been indicted for anything. Cohen's assertion under oath in court was that he acted at the behest of a federal candidate. Cohen's lawyer says that's the president. And Larry says he "would have expected [Cohen] to do that. ... He was there to protect his client."

Carl believes, though, that this allegation against Trump should make a difference.

"It should, morally, because Larry and his ilk have been telling us for years that he supports the party of family values, the party of law and order, and Larry is basically saying, 'You know what? It doesn’t care if the guy I support is an immoral degenerate. It doesn’t matter that the law is not going to work against him, as long as he does what I want him to do in office.' "

For Larry, this all is not enough to indict Trump.

"Yes, did he maybe do something inappropriate, or wrong, or morally wrong? Yes, he did," Larry says. "You know what? There’s only one person that didn't ever do anything wrong, and they nailed him up on a cross. So no, I’m not going to indict someone who has done something wrong."

He says "of course there could be something" that would leave him unable to forgive Trump, but he doesn't "see what that could be."

"He has brought this country, economically, out of a hole, and he has stood up for America with the China situation and the intellectual property situation, which we’ve had a problem with companies stealing all of our intellectual property for years," Larry said. "He stood up to the press who has beaten up on him, and acted like they are kingmakers. I’m not anti-press, but in my opinion, a newspaper reporter is not a kingmaker. He’s there to report the news, he’s not there to make the news."

"I voted for Donald Trump. I’m 100 percent behind him. I think he’s a tough president, and he’s exactly what I want. As far as this midterm election thing, he’s doing exactly what I want him to do."

On Point caller Larry

In the end, says CBS correspondent Paula Reid, these conflicting reactions from listeners are not surprising. She says what happened Tuesday "was sort of a Rorschach test for how you feel about Robert Mueller." And she points to the question of legality as the heart of the matter.

"The case, it really isn’t about sex or adultery or any of that," Reid said. "Legally, it’s about — look, if you paid someone to keep quiet about your affair, there’s nothing illegal about that. That’s adults entering into a contract. But if you did that to help influence the outcome of an election, then you are bound by certain legal restrictions and requirements, and that’s the question here. Was this payment made in order to help him get elected? And you know what, every source I talk to, everyone involved in this, everyone was operating in a world where he was not going to win. So I don’t think they were paying as much attention to these requirements and restrictions as they would have been if they expected him to win. But now, that’s really the legal question, is was this done in an effort to impact the election? If it was, then there could be some criminality."

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Alex Schroeder Digital Producer, On Point
Alex Schroeder is a digital producer for On Point.

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