Who was Roy Cohn? Donald Trump's former mentor and close confidant

He was the inspiration for Mr. Burns' evil lawyer in the cartoon series The Simpsons: Roy Cohn (1927-1986). In the USA, Roy Cohn is a figure that many people associate with dark power games and manipulation. Cohn, who became famous in the 1950s as legal advisor to the notorious US Senator Joseph McCarthy, made headlines with his unscrupulous search for communists and alleged enemies of the state in the American government. This man would later become Donald Trump's mentor and help him rise to power.

Roy Cohn has been shaping the USA for 70 years

His connections to the mafia, participation in parties at the legendary Studio 54, and an incomparably unscrupulous handling of the truth ultimately secured him a reputation as 'the vicious Forrest Gump' of the 20th century, as the renowned magazine Esquire dubbed him.

Even after his death in the mid-1980s, his presence remains vivid in America's collective memory - a figure of seduction, power and, as Thomas Mallon, author of the 2006 novel Fellow Travelers, put it, a 'vampire' who played a key role in shaping America today. He said:

To the extent that he has influenced Trump's thinking and behavior, it is clear that Cohn has been shaping the republic, albeit sporadically, for 70 years.

'Attack, counterattack and never apologize'

Roy Cohn, a Jewish and homosexual man, was a shady lawyer and terror of the bar. Around 1951, he did not shy away from holding illegal talks with the judge to secure the death sentence for Julius and Ethel Rosenberg as Soviet spies. He was an ingenious string-puller who always had his goal in mind - and was absolutely exploitative when in doubt. He had contacts to the mafia as well as to celebrities such as Ronald and Nancy Reagan. This Roy Cohn became Donald Trump's mentor and close companion in the 1970s.

In the 1970s, Donald Trump and his father were first sued by the US government for discrimination against black tenants of their flats. It was then that Donald met the lawyer - a key moment in Trump's life.

Cohn took on the case and gave Trump crucial advice: instead of giving up, he should sue the Department of Justice. The case was eventually settled - and the lesson was deep-seated.

Dominate conflicts and benefit from the 'scare value'

Roy Cohn conveyed his main motto to Donald Trump: 'Attack, counterattack and never apologize'. This is how the Washington Post summed it up in an article in 2016. In fact, the lawyer himself had bragged on a television program in the 1970s that his clients would benefit from his 'scare value'. His opponents knew that 'all sorts of bad consequences would follow' if they did not comply.

Donald Trump would later not only use this style in his real estate career, but also elevate it to an art form as a politician and US president. Roy Cohn's influence made Donald Trump a merciless businessman in the 1980s who sought out conflicts in order to dominate them and always gain the upper hand. And this approach obviously paid off for Trump. Because thanks to Cohn, he became a personality that attracted and repelled millions.

Cohn's name is held in honour by Trump supporters

Cohn's name also lives on among Trump's closest allies. When Steve Bannon, once a close advisor to Trump, wrote the foreword to the new edition of the biography Citizen Cohn in 2023, he called him 'one of the most extraordinary, demonized and misunderstood figures of the 20th century'. For Bannon, one thing is certain: Cohn's spirit and tactics live on in Trump's fight against the political establishment and the media. And he sees this - on behalf of other Trump supporters - as a positive thing.

The American reality show The Apprenticecatapulted Trump into the hearts and living rooms of millions of people. The show, in which Trump's expression 'You're fired' became a trademark, served as a prime example of his blunt philosophy.

In the show produced and hosted by Donald Trump, the 'big boss' eliminated candidates hoping for a position at the top of the company round by round. The show became famous less for the success of the winners than for the humiliation of the losers.

This article has been translated from Oh!MyMag DE.

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Sources used:

BBC: Roy Cohn: The mysterious US lawyer who helped Donald Trump rise to power

Le Monde: 'The Apprentice' by Ali Abbasi: How Roy Cohn created Donald Trump