New Profile Details How Trump Ridiculed Cohen at His Own Son’s Bar Mitzvah After Arriving Late
While Michael Cohen is President Donald Trump‘s personal attorney, the two sound more like frenemies by some accounts.
The president has repeatedly disrespected Cohen, and once showed up late to a family event to which he’d been invited, then cracked jokes at Cohen’s expense, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
“After saying he’d attend Mr. Cohen’s son’s bar mitzvah in 2012, Mr. Trump was late, and the blessings were delayed, according to an attendee,” the Journal reported.
“After Mr. Trump arrived, he gave a speech, telling guests he hadn’t planned to come, but he relented after Mr. Cohen had repeatedly called him, his secretary and his children begging him to appear, the attendee said. The guests laughed because ‘everyone knew it was very realistic-sounding,’ the attendee added.”
Aside from the comedic jabs at his son’s bar mitzvah, Trump’s mistreatment of Cohen reportedly continued even after the 2016 election, when Cohen became isolated by the new president.
“Mr. Cohen found himself on the outside during the presidential transition, said a person close to Mr. Trump,” the Journal reported. “He tried to find a role for himself by building bridges between Mr. Trump and the business community, but never got traction, this person said.”
During inaugural celebrations, Cohen was practically shunned, having been denied priority access to events during that time, one source telling the Journal that his face reflected the hurt he’d sustained. “He was always just at the edges,” the source said.
That came after Cohen — who once reportedly told associates he expected to be tapped for campaign chief, but was passed over in favor of Steve Bannon — “told people at the time he expected to be named White House chief of staff,” WSJ reported.
Trump eventually passed over him for that role as well, telling associates he was too risky for that role.
While the relationship between the two sounds a bit icy, Trump publicly defended Cohen, who has been raided by the FBI following news of the Stormy Daniels scandal. In an interview with Fox News Thursday, Trump said, “He represents me like with this crazy Stormy Daniels deal, he represented me. You know, from what I see, he did absolutely nothing wrong.”
[Image via screengrab]
