{"id":5681,"date":"2026-09-01T19:14:23","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T19:14:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=5681"},"modified":"2026-09-01T19:14:23","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T19:14:23","slug":"us-still-haunted-by-scoundrel-who-mentored-trump-historian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=5681","title":{"rendered":"US still ‘haunted’ by ‘scoundrel’ who mentored Trump: historian"},"content":{"rendered":"
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An author and historian told MS NOW that the “scoundrel and sinner” who mentored President Donald Trump is still “haunting” the U.S., arguing that he represents the through-line from one of the country’s worst moments to the present crisis.<\/p>\n

Read more Trump\u2019s latest embarrassment exposes how much the world is \u2018against us\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Kai Bird appeared on the Tuesday edition of MS NOW’s State of Play<\/em>, promoting his new biography, American Scoundrel: Roy Cohn’s Dark Journey from Joe McCarthy to Donald Trump<\/em>, detailing the life and influence of lawyer Roy Cohn. Cohn first rose to infamy by assisting Sen. Joseph McCarthy in carrying out his “Red Scare” witch hunt against alleged communists, and later became a key mentor to a young Donald Trump after becoming his lawyer, purportedly seeing potential in him decades prior to his becoming president.<\/p>\n

“I like to quote H.L.<\/span> Mencken, the political humorist<\/span> who once said, ‘what a dull<\/span> world this place would be for<\/span> us honest men if it were not<\/span> for the sinners,'” Bird said. “And Roy Cohn<\/span> was a sinner and a scoundrel<\/span> who met Donald Trump in October<\/span> of 1973, and he molded him into<\/span> becoming, I would argue, the<\/span> worst and also the most<\/span> consequential president of<\/span> recent decades.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Among the characteristics of Trump attributed to the influence of Cohn are his preference for loyalty above all else and his determination to never admit defeat under any circumstances.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more How Trump broke the GOP \u2014 and they never saw it coming: historian<\/a><\/p>\n

“<\/span>He taught him,<\/span> as you listed his rules: Attack,<\/span> attack, attack; Don’t<\/span> tell me what the law is, t<\/span>ell me who the judge is. You<\/span> know his playbook is now <\/span>Donald Trump’s playbook,” Bird added. <\/span><\/p>\n

He argued later in the interview that the long shadow of Cohn over Trump has created a scenario in which rampant corruption is corroding the public’s trust in democracy, making them more “cynical” in the face of a system that seems to have no rules. He also argued that Cohn represents a clear line connecting one of America’s low points \u2014 the Red Scare \u2014 to the last decade of Trumpism, and it is a connection that must be reckoned with.<\/span><\/p>\n

“At the time when I<\/span> became a historian several<\/span> decades ago, I studied the<\/span> McCarthy era, and I thought<\/span> this was a low point in our<\/span> history, something that,<\/span> however, we’d gotten past,” Bird said. “But<\/span> I no longer believe that. There<\/span> were thousands of victims of<\/span> mccarthyism in 1954, but there<\/span> are many more thousands today.<\/span> And we have another witch hunt.<\/span> And there’s a direct line<\/span> between mccarthyism and the <\/span>last decade of Trumpism, and<\/span> the connection is Roy Cohn, and<\/span> he’s very much haunting us from<\/span> his grave.”<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Ex-Navy commander reveals \u2018mortal weakness\u2019 keeping Trump in chaos<\/a><\/p>\n