Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

Michael Cohen Reportedly Saves Elderly Man In Swanky Restaurant

Satan or savior?

Some hailed Michael Cohenan American hero after he flipped on turbulent President Trump earlier this year, and some saw him as a nogoodnik turncoat.

Either way, you have to salute his quick thinking in reportedly saving an elderly man in an NYC restaurant this week. Once again, the news is much, much stranger than fiction.

Cohen, who frequents ritzy eateries on the Upper East Side, rushed to the aid of an elderly man in Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s restaurant JoJo, after he appeared to slip and tumble while walking by Cohen’s table. An eyewitness reported that the man, who clutched a cane, seemed to have “lost his balance. The man was about to hit his head on the table when Michael caught him, and may have saved his life, hugged him and put him back on his feet.”

Cohen has been called all kinds of names: cutthroat, sleazy, and bad at planning bar mitzvah parties. It’s strange to watch him metamorphose into our country’s truth-seeking warrior and everyman hero. And yet, here we find ourselves.

The President’s former attorney and longtime confidante had been dining with his own lawyer David Schwartz at the time of the heartwarming incident. We’re sure both lawyers will be dining out (if you will) on this anecdote for some time, but for now their work still lies ahead — Cohen pleaded guilty to eight counts in federal court in August, turning on President Trump.

Sweet of him to take a break from saving himself to look out for someone else.

Tamar Skydell is an intern at The Forward. You can contact her at [email protected]

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.