Et tu, Michael Cohen?
Loyalty has long been a core value for President Donald Trump. But he's learning the hard way that in politics, it doesn't always last.
Cohen, the president's former personal attorney, this week implicated the president in a stunning plea deal. Days later, word surfaced that David Pecker, a longtime Trump friend and media boss, also was cooperating with prosecutors.
Taking the Cohen news as a personal betrayal, Trump criticized his longtime fixer for "flipping," saying on "Fox and Friends" that such double-crossers "make up things" to get reduced prison time and become "a national hero."
The defection of Cohen, who had once grandly declared he would "take a bullet" for the president, was deeply troubling to Trump. And the lawyer is just one in a series of former Trump loyalists who have distanced themselves from the president, intent on saving themselves in a series of nasty legal and political battles. The growing list includes Pecker, former White House staffer Omarosa Manigault Newman and former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
Pecker, a Trump confidant and chief executive of the company that publishes the National Enquirer, was granted immunity by federal prosecutors in exchange for providing information in the criminal investigation into hush payments made by Cohen on Trump's behalf before the 2016 election, media outlets reported Thursday.
A senior White House official said the president was undoubtedly frustrated and surprised by the latest developments, particularly campaign finance-related charges against Cohen, as evidenced by Trump's tweets and public statements. But the official disputed the notion that the president was visibly upset over the news. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions, said Trump carried out his normal complement of meetings Thursday and bantered as usual with staff and lawmakers who were at the White House.
The official said Trump and his aides have grown accustomed to being smacked with bad news when they look up at the television — and their reactions are more muted than when Trump first took office.
But Manigault Newman, a former contestant on "The Apprentice," outraged the president last week with the release of a tell-all book and series of secretly recorded audiotapes, as she accused Trump of being racist and suffering from a mental decline.
Trump is still stung by the decision of Flynn, his first national security adviser, to plead guilty to lying to the FBI last year about his contacts with a Russian official in exchange for cooperating with authorities in the probe led by special counsel Robert Mueller.
And he was irate when former strategist Steve Bannon was quoted in Michael Wolff's book, "Fire and Fury," as saying it was "treasonous" for Donald Trump Jr. and others to meet during the 2016 campaign with a Russian attorney who claimed to have incriminating information about Hillary Clinton.
Yet no other administration figure has caused Trump more agitation than Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who infuriated the president by recusing himself from the Mueller investigation. Trump re-ignited his feud with the former Alabama senator Thursday by complaining in the Fox interview that Sessions "never took control of the Justice Department."
"He took the job and then he said I'm going to recuse myself. I said, 'What kind of a man is this?' And by the way, he was on the campaign. You know the only reason I gave him the job because I felt loyalty, he was an original supporter," Trump said.
Sessions responded that he and his department "will not be improperly influenced by political considerations," adding to tension over his decision to recuse himself. People close to the president said they were not aware of any immediate plans to dismiss Sessions, at least before the midterm elections.
Throughout his time in office, Trump has demanded dramatic shows of fealty.
When then-FBI Director James Comey met with Trump early in the administration, he said the president asked him if he wanted to stay in his role and declared: "I need loyalty. I expect loyalty." Trump fired Comey months later.
During an early Cabinet meeting, Trump's team appeared to compete to praise the president the most. Then-Chief of Staff Reince Priebus stated, "We thank you for the opportunity and blessing to serve your agenda."
Before entering politics, Trump ran his business with a close circle of advisers, including his children, and during his campaign he leaned heavily on a handful of aides. He has long viewed loyalty as paramount.
Trump has openly mused about the need for another Roy Cohn, the larger-than-life New York attorney who guided the future president in New York's media and real estate landscape during the 1970s. But for someone who insisted on ironclad loyalty, those types of friendships have only gone so far in Washington.
Trump has groused privately that his top attorney in the Mueller probe, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, was in Scotland for a golf vacation when the Cohen and Manafort news broke.
Trump told "Fox and Friends" that for "30, 40 years I've been watching flippers. Everything's wonderful and then they get 10 years in jail and they — they flip on whoever the next highest one is, or as high as you can go."
The president said the decision by those under legal scrutiny to cooperate with prosecutors "almost ought to be illegal."
"They go from 10 years to they're a national hero," he said. "They have a statue erected in their honor. It's not a fair thing."
Associated Press writers Zeke Miller and Jill Colvin contributed to this report.
U.S. President Donald Trump said that he has demanded about seven countries send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, as Iranian strikes continued to rain down on Gulf countries early Monday.
Dubai International Airport — the world's busiest — suspended operations after a drone struck a fuel tank, starting a fire. Authorities said it was quickly contained and no injuries were reported.
Tehran has accused the United States of using “ports, docks and hideouts” in the United Arab Emirates to launch strikes on Kharg Island, home to the main terminal handling Iran’s oil exports, without providing evidence, as oil prices soared.
Trump said the U.S. is negotiating with countries heavily reliant on Middle East crude to join a coalition to police the waterway where about one-fifth the world’s traded oil normally flows, but declined to name them.
Meanwhile, Israeli strikes have deepened Lebanon's humanitarian crisis, with more than 850 people killed and over 850,000 displaced.
Here is the latest:
Saudi Arabia says it intercepted three drones Monday morning over the capital Riyadh and the nation’s oil-rich western region.
The Saudi Defense Ministry says no casualties or damage were reported.
The ministry reports more than 60 drones attacked the Gulf country within a few hours.
United Arab Emirates officials say Dubai International Airport has gradually resumed some flights at hours after a drone strike.
Dubai Civil Aviation Authority announced flights are operating to selected destinations, according to the Dubai Media Office.
Emirates airline says limited operations have resumed at the airport.
A drone struck a fuel tank at the airport early Monday, causing a fire and forcing the temporary suspension of flights.
Brent crude oil is trading near the $105 per barrel level on Monday.
A barrel of Brent, the international standard, was up 1.6% at $104.73, dipping slightly after opening above $106 per barrel. It’s up more than 40% since the war began.
Share prices in Asia were mixed and U.S. futures advanced.
Hours after a drone strike sparked a fire at Dubai’s main airport, Emirates says in its latest update that all of its flights there “remain suspended until further notice.”
The airline says it is working with authorities to restart operations when possible. It urged passengers not to travel to the airport.
Dubai International Airport is the world’s busiest airport for international travel and a key hub for many routes linking the East and West.
The United Arab Emirates’ Defense Ministry said forces were intercepting Iranian missiles and drones Monday morning.
Earlier, a drone hit a fuel tank at the Dubai International Airport.
Trump is suggesting he may delay his much-anticipated visit to China at the end of the month as he seeks to ramp up the pressure on Beijing to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz and calm oil prices.
In an interview Sunday with the Financial Times, Trump said China’s reliance on oil from the Middle East means it ought to help with a new coalition he is trying to put together to get oil tanker traffic moving through the strait after Iran’s threats have throttled global flows of oil.
Trump said “we’d like to know” before the trip whether Beijing will help.
“We may delay,” Trump said in the interview.
Trump’s new comments came as U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was meeting with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on Monday in Paris for a new round of trade talks that were meant to pave the way for Trump’s Beijing trip.
Mohammed bin Salman and Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan discussed the latest regional developments in a phone call, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement early Monday.
The two leaders said the continued “Iranian attacks against Gulf Cooperation Council countries represent a dangerous escalation that threatens regional security and stability,” adding that GCC states will continue efforts to defend their countries
Emirati authorities have closed the main road and tunnel leading to Dubai International Airport.
Dubai Police urged drivers to use alternative roads.
Authorities said earlier a drone hit a fuel tank at the airport, causing fire with no casualties.
Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry said early Monday it downed an additional large barrage of 35 drones in the country’s eastern region, one of the kingdom’s least dense, close to Iran and home to major oil installations.
This brings the total number of drones intercepted to at least 60 in the last few hours.
The ministry did not immediately report casualties or damage.
The Australian government says a warship won’t be sent to the Middle East to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to international shipping.
U.S. President Donald Trump said that he has demanded about seven countries send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, as Iranian strikes continued to rain down on Gulf countries.
Australia’s Transport Minister Catherine King told Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Monday she was not aware of Australia receiving such a request.
“We won’t be sending a ship to the Strait of Hormuz. We know how incredibly important that is, but that’s not something that we’ve been asked or that we’re contributing to,” King said.
Australia said last week it was providing the UAE with an air force surveillance jet and air-to-air missiles to defend against Iranian attacks.
But a government statement said Australia was “not taking offensive action against Iran.”
FlyDubai planeS is parked at Dubai International Airport as smoke rises in the background after a drone struck a fuel tank early morning, forcing the temporary suspension of flights, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo)
A member of the armed wing of the Kurdish-Iranian opposition group Organization of Iranian Kurdistan Struggle, known as Khabat, stands in front of a shrapnel pockmarked wall that allegedly was damaged in strike by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq last week at a military base on the outskirts of Irbil, Iraq, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Nofar Eliash holds her dog as she takes shelter with others while air raid sirens warn of incoming Iranian and Hezbollah missile strikes in Kiryat Shmona, northern Israel, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
A view of Kiryat Shmona, northern Israel, and Lebanon border on the right,, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Fire and plumes of smoke rise after a drone struck a fuel tank forcing the temporary suspension of flights. near Dubai International Airport, in United Arab Emirates, early Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo)
Israeli security forces inspect damage at the site of an Iranian missile strike in Holon, central Israel, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
A bulldozer clears debris from the rubble of buildings destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Debris litters the street as smoke rises from buildings damaged in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A woman displays a poster of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei as she waves her country's flag during a campaign in support of the government at the Enqelab-e-Eslami, or Islamic Revolution, square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A cargo ship sails in the Arabian Gulf towards Strait of Hormuz in United Arab Emirates, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
