New Biography Details Roy Cohn's Mentorship of Donald Trump

Authors Kai Bird and Susan Goldmark have published American Scoundrel, a biography of Roy Cohn, the New York lawyer who served as a mentor to Donald Trump. The book traces Cohn's career from his time as an aide to Senator Joe McCarthy during the Red Scare to his role guiding Trump through the New York real estate market during the 1970s and 1980s.

Bird characterizes Cohn as a svengali who taught Trump how to navigate the law, profit from ties to organized crime, and employ remorseless lying. The narrative also examines Cohn's private struggles with AIDS and his sexuality, as well as his eventual disbarment for unethical conduct.

To inform the biography, Bird conducted several phone interviews with Donald Trump. During these conversations, Trump provided accounts of their first meeting at Le Club in Manhattan and shared his views on the Panama Canal treaty.