Roy Cohn is still up to his same old tricks

Reincarnation has never been one of my core beliefs. Not until I read a gripping new book by noted biographer Kai Bird and his wife Susan Goldmark: “American Scoundrel: Roy Cohn’s Dark Journey from Joe McCarthy to Donald Trump.”

Now I am convinced that Roy Cohn didn’t die in 1986. He was simply reincarnated and is now president. President Trump is Roy Cohn incarnate.

Cohn was one of the most consequential figures of the 20th century, whose influence in the 21st century is as strong as ever. That doesn’t mean he was one of the most likeable. In fact, the portrait of Cohn painted by Bird and Goldmark is pure evil. It’s fascinating reading, but I felt like I needed to take a shower at the end of every chapter. From serving as Sen. Joe McCarthy’s (R-Wis.) pit bull during the Army-McCarthy hearings in 1954 to representing mafia dons in New York and Las Vegas, Cohn gained a reputation as a ruthless, unscrupulous, amoral, rule-breaking, judge-busting attorney who would lie, cheat, and steal to serve his clients and then brag about getting away with it — until he was finally disbarred in 1986.

Cohn met his most famous client in October 1973, when Trump and his father had been sued by the Justice Department for refusing to rent apartments to Black families. “What do you think we should do?” Trump asked. Cohn’s response was classic: “Tell them to go to hell and fight the thing in court and let them prove you discriminated.” Trump hired Cohn on the spot and went on to become his most loyal disciple, not only following Cohn’s advice, but adopting and practicing his unethical tactics — which he still does today.

Indeed, the big take-away from “American Scoundrel” is how closely Trump’s actions reflect and repeat lessons he learned from Roy Cohn, all founded on what the New York Times called Cohn’s three rules: “1. Never settle, never surrender. 2. Counterattack, counter-sue immediately. 3. No matter what happens, no matter how deeply into the muck you get, claim victory and never admit defeat.”

In conducting his business or dealing with adversaries, everything Trump does he learned from Roy Cohn, starting with the least serious. Under Cohn’s tutelage, McCarthy delighted in giving his critics denigrating nicknames. Sen. Stuart Symington (D-Mo.) became “Sanctimonious Stu.” Sen. Margaret Chase Smith (R-Maine) was “Snow White.” For Trump, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was “Crazy Nancy.” Joe Biden was “Sleepy Joe.”

“Another lesson Trump learned from Cohn,” note Bird and Goldmark, “was his cavalier attitude toward paying his bills.” He stiffed restaurants, contractors, business partners, travel agencies and the IRS. Like his mentor, Trump soon gained a reputation for being a celebrity cheapskate. In 2016, USA Today reported at least 60 lawsuits by painters, plumbers, cabinet makers, waiters, bartenders, and lawyers who said Trump failed to pay them.

On a much more serious scale, Cohn taught Trump not to let facts get in the way. Cohn and McCarthy convinced the country of a “Red Scare” when, in fact, there were only 25,000 members of the American Communist Party in 1953. As New York Times columnist Tony Lewis wrote, “The Communist threat inside the United States was minuscule, if it existed at all.” And, of course, Trump never bothers about facts in claiming he won the popular vote in 2016 , he actually won the election in 2020, and those who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 were “patriots.”

When one of his clients was unhappy with what was printed about them, Cohn would tell them to sue the newspaper. Following that advice to the letter, Trump has sued ABC, CBS, CNN, BBC, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post — all because he didn’t like what they reported.

Of course, Trump lives by Cohn’s cardinal rule of when attacked, counter-attack. Cohn would be proud of how Trump has used the Justice Department to pursue dozens of perceived political opponents, including former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, former National Security Adviser John Bolton, former CIA Director John Brennan, and several members of Congress. And, once in court, Trump follows Cohn’s other rule: delay, delay, delay.

Of all lessons Trump learned from Cohn, the only one I cannot confirm is Cohn’s well-documented habit of picking up a fork and eating from other peoples’ plates in restaurants . But the next time I dine at Mar-a-Lago, I’ll let you know.