May 04, 2018 - 07:38 PM EDT
Trump booked himself for 'Fox & Friends' interview
By Morgan Gstalter
President Trump booked himself for his phone interview on "Fox & Friends" last week, CBS News reported Friday.
Unnamed sources confirmed to the network that Trump, who has no communications director, organized his own appearance on the morning show, which marked his first televised interview in months. Trump has not had a communications director since Hope Hicks resigned from the post in February.
A White House official confirmed Trump accepted co-host Steve Doocy's invitation to appear on the show before directing his press office to orchestrate the logistics.
Trump frequently watches and often praises "Fox & Friends," which some have speculated is his favorite show.
He used the platform to distance himself from his personal attorney, Michael Cohen, whose business dealings are the focus of a federal criminal investigation.
The president made a bombshell admission during the interview, acknowledging for the first time that Cohen worked on his behalf to reach a nondisclosure agreement with adult-film star Stormy Daniels.
Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 just before the 2016 presidential election as part of the agreement, a payment of which Trump previously said he had no knowledge.
"Like with this crazy Stormy Daniels deal, he represented me and you know, from what I see, he did absolutely nothing wrong. There were no campaign funds going into this," Trump said.
Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, says she had sex with Trump in 2006. The White House has repeatedly denied the claim.
CNN's Anderson Cooper criticized the sprawling interview, saying it sounded like "the rantings of Richard Nixon."