Michael Cohen ‘Caught The Bug,’ Dreamed Of Running For Mayor Of New York
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Michael Cohen once expressed interest in running for the mayor of New York.
On election night 2016, about the time it was becoming clear that Donald Trump would win the presidency, Cohen told several people in Trump Tower that he, too, was thinking about going into politics, Axios reported.
“This is the beginning of a dynasty,” Cohen told the group, according to a source who heard him.
Surprised by the remark, one of the people asked Trump’s longtime personal attorney that if by “dynasty” he meant Ivanka or Don Junior was going to get the political bug next.
Cohen replied: “I’ve already got the bug… Nobody’s going to be able to f—- with us. I think I’m going to run for mayor.”
Later that night, around 3:30 a.m., the Trump team was leaving its victory party at the Hilton Hotel, according to Axios. In the hotel, escalators took the crowd from the party down to the lobby. A member of Trump’s entourage saw Cohen near the bottom of the escalator and yelled out, “Cohen for mayor!”
Cohen appeared to have no idea who said it, but looked over his shoulder and pumped his fist in the air.
A second source confirmed that in the months after the election, Cohen asked for advice about setting up a campaign to run for New York City mayor. But he never ended up challenging Bill de Blasio.
Asked recently about this, he said, “Despite many friends suggesting that I run for mayor… I obviously chose not to. Additionally, I believe that Mayor de Blasio is doing a fine job for our city.”
Contact Alyssa Fisher at [email protected] or on Twitter, @alyssalfisher
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
