Roy Cohn was one of the most divisive and mysterious figures in the history of the American legal world and politics. Although he is best remembered as the chief counsel to Senator Joseph McCarthy in the infamous Army-McCarthy hearings of the 1950s, Cohn’s influence went well beyond the boundaries of those hearings. The history with Donald Trump, starting in the early 1970s, became important in shaping Trump’s business acumen and political strategies. This article further goes to explore Cohn’s life, his connections to Trump, and the more enduring dynamics of that relationship.
Early life and legal career
Roy Cohn was born into a privileged upbringing in Bronx, New York on February 20, 1927. His father was a judge and his mother heiress to a banking fortune. Cohn graduated from Columbia University at age 20, with both an undergraduate degree and a law degree. He entered the legal profession as an assistant U.S. attorney and won renown in the prosecution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were convicted of espionage and executed in 1953.
The most dramatic rise to prominence for Cohn, however, came when he became the chief counsel for the infamous McCarthy during the infamous Red Scare. Aggressive and an ethical boundary pusher, he was both feared and respected among his contemporaries. After the defeat of McCarthy in 1954, Cohn’s reputation then suffered as he faced numerous legal challenges throughout the late 1950s and 1970s.
The connection with Donald Trump
But the unlikely friendship between Cohn and Donald Trump in fact got off to a serious start in 1973 when the United States Justice Department sued Trump and his father for racial discrimination in their housing practices. Cohn advised Trump to sue for defamation in return-a strategy that set the tone for how Trump would deal with adversaries for years to come. The resultant lawsuit was to be the first salvo in a mentorship that would shape Trump’s way of doing business-and politics.
During the 1970s and 1980s, Cohn emerged as one of Trump’s closest confidants, counseling him through a string of real estate transactions and other personal matters. Their relationship grew closer as Cohn ushered Trump into the company of influential people-such as the media business magnate Rupert Murdoch-and schooled him on how to work the levers of power in New York City. The “win-at-all-costs” approach of Cohn found its echo in Trump during his entry into business.
But the influence of Cohn was not merely about legality; Cohn gave Trump an aura of total invincibility and absolute disregard for convention in ethics. He taught Trump how to manipulate media narrative and leveraged public perception-skills that later became characteristic in his political career.
Controversies surrounding Roy Cohn
Still, his career was continuously shadowed by scandal: in 1986, he was disbarred for conduct that was found unethical-after he attempted to defraud a dying client by doctoring a will. His health started to deteriorate with the diagnosis of AIDS during the early 1980s. Publicly, however, he hewed to the story of liver cancer right up until his death on August 2nd, 1986.
The legacy now of Cohn is somewhat labyrinthine; to many, he epitomizes ruthless ambition and ambiguity of morals. Many have called upon his tactics-intimidation, smear campaigns, aggressive litigation-as a forerunner of Trump’s way of approaching politics.
Cultural impact of Cohn’s legacy
His life has served as the subject for several cultural depictions, from the documentary Where’s My Roy Cohn? to the play Tony Kushner entitled Angels in America, and in which he appeared as this morally gray character who completely personifies the mischievous dark side of American politics. These works bring into focus the personal flaws in Cohn and his huge impact on successive generations of political operators.
Over the past several years, a spate of commentators have compared Cohn’s methods with Trump’s behavior since he became president. Matt Tyrnauer, the director of Where’s My Roy Cohn?, said, Cohn really wrote the playbook-a kind of blueprint-that Trump used to rise: how to foment and exploit fear, how to get what one wanted, no matter the cost.
