Roy Cohn And The Molding Of Trump

One of the most sinister, vile, corrupt creatures ever to have infested public and political life was the late, evil Roy Cohn. Known for his role as an aide to disgraced alcoholic Sen. Joseph McCarthy, he was a mentor (and some would say surrogate father) to demagogue Donald "The Chosen One" Trump. Filmmaker Matt Tyrnauer's new film "Where's My Roy Cohn?" looks at the significant influence Cohn had in creating a political sewer on the right, from which Trump emerged. The film's title refers to a moment when Trump was beset with legal and political crisis he called out, "where's my Roy Cohn?"  Tyrnauer was interviewed by the Daily Beast and had some observations:

“Roy Cohn created a president from beyond the grave,” Tyrnauer says. “It’s almost an absurd statement to make, but in this case is true. With the election of Trump, Cohn goes from being a footnote in American history to being a modern Machiavelli, which is an astonishing phenomenon.” [snip] “Trump is a symptom of the darkest tendencies in our populace to take advantage of a system and exploit it for personal gain rather than the greater good,” Tyrnauer says. “That this country was capable of electing him president and not systematically rejecting him is a really terrifying thing.”[snip] “We know that among the electorate, approximately 40 percent will vote for a dangerous demagogue, an incompetent man,” Tyrnauer says. “That’s actually helpful information. What we do about it is the question.”  (our emphasis)

Looking at Cohn's slimy and demagogic history, then noticing the obvious traits he passed on to Trump, has caused many to marvel at the similarities:

"Tyrnauer says he was shocked by how many people he interviewed who point-blank said that Donald Trump is Roy Cohn. “Another person said Donald Trump swallowed Roy Cohn whole.”  (our emphasis)

We're living with the consequences of that hideous meal.