Michael Cohen scoffed at Donald Trump's “waning” public support, comparing it with a "bake sale" as the former president landed in New York ahead of a historic arraignment hearing.
The twice-impeached president will reportedly face 34 felony charges for falsification of business records in connection to hush money payments to adult film actor Stormy Daniels.
A Manhattan grand jury on 30 March voted to indict Mr Trump on criminal charges over hush money payments just before the 2016 presidential election.
Manhattan prosecutors have been investigating whether the one-time president falsified the Trump Organization’s business records when Cohen – his former lawyer and “fixer” – made the payment of $130,000 to Ms Daniels.
In an interview with MSNBC, Cohen said Mr Trump had been bragging about his fundraising following the indictment, which is a “smokescreen”.
"What he’s trying to do is, he’s trying to show everybody how popular he is,” Cohen said.
“This is all part of the Trump ruse," he added.
"'Look how popular I am. People are sending me money because I’m asking them to. They are my supporters. And it’s not only $4m. No, no, that’s too little. Now it’s up to $7m'."
"Well, if there are so many people concerned, why aren’t they out in the streets today," MSNBC's Ari Melber asked.
Cohen responded: "They certainly weren't. That was, I don’t know, it looked like a bake sale over at a high school football game."
When asked about the former president's dwindling popularity, Cohen said: “I truly don’t believe that the popularity of Donald Trump is where it was six months ago or a year ago."
"I think people are sick and tired of this nonsense every single day. We wake up and we’re wondering what Captain Chaos is going to do today.”
Cohen was convicted of tax evasion, lying to the Congress, and campaign finance violations related to the payments to Ms Daniels. He was sentenced to three years in prison.
Mr Trump arrived in New York on Monday shortly after 3pm local time, before his caravan escorted him to Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, the headquarters for his Trump Organization and the namesake skyscraper from where he launched his first presidential campaign.
Mr Trump will appear inside the New York City Criminal Court on Tuesday to be formally charged.
According to Yahoo News, Mr Trump will not be made to have a mugshot, wear handcuffs or be placed in a jail cell.
Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg has reportedly consulted with the Secret Service and New York City court officials and decided that there was no reason to put Mr Trump through the normal procedure of being cuffed and having a photo taken.
