The president attacked Mr. Cohen as a bad lawyer and said that he had “such respect for a brave man,” a reference to Paul Manafort, who was convicted of tax and bank fraud.
Michael D. Cohen, President Trump’s former lawyer, has pleaded guilty to violating federal campaign finance laws and has implicated Mr. Trump. Here is how their relationship has evolved.
The conviction of Paul Manafort and guilty plea by Michael D. Cohen could open fissures among Republicans on Capitol Hill and expose President Trump to the possibility of impeachment.
For now, the G.O.P. continues to stand by Mr. Trump. But with only weeks until the midterms, the question will soon be put before voters, who will decide whether to hand Congress to the Democrats.
In a wide-ranging, more than hourlong speech in West Virginia, the president repeatedly demonized Democrats as coddlers of lawbreakers who would take the country down a dangerous path.