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cover of episode Young Donald Trump, Roy Cohn, and the Dark Arts of Power

Young Donald Trump, Roy Cohn, and the Dark Arts of Power

2024/9/30
logo of podcast The Political Scene | The New Yorker

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

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This chapter explores the genesis of Donald Trump's public persona and the formative influence of Roy Cohn. It delves into Trump's early career in Manhattan real estate, his relationship with the media, and the pivotal role Cohn played in shaping his approach to power and public image. It sets the stage for understanding Trump's trajectory from a young, ambitious developer to the controversial figure he became.
  • Roy Cohn's influence on Donald Trump dates back to Trump's early career in real estate.
  • Cohn taught Trump the importance of playing out dramas in the media.
  • Trump's early career was marked by a drive to succeed and a willingness to court publicity.

Shownotes Transcript

Actors and comedians have usually played Donald Trump as larger than life, almost as a cartoon. In the new film “The Apprentice,” Sebastian Stan doesn’t play for laughs. He stars as a very young Trump falling under the sway of Roy Cohn (played by Jeremy Strong)— the notorious, amoral lawyer and fixer.  “Cohn took Donald Trump under his wing when Donald was a nobody from the outer boroughs,” the film’s writer and executive producer Gabriel Sherman tells David Remnick. He “taught him the dark arts of power brokering … [and] introduced him to New York society.” Sherman, a contributing editor to New York magazine, also chronicled Roger Ailes’s rise to power at Fox News in “The Loudest Voice in the Room.” Sherman insists, though, that the film is not anti-Trump—or not exactly. “The movie got cast into this political left-right schema, and it’s not that. It’s a humanist work of drama,” in which the protégé eventually betrays his mentor. It almost goes without saying that Donald Trump has threatened to sue the producers of the film, and the major Hollywood studios wouldn’t touch it.  Sherman talks with Remnick about how the film, which opens October 11th, came to be.