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It’s Michael Cohen vs Michael Cohen Across the Jewish Trump Divide

Trump supporter Michael D. Cohen (L) and progressive columnist Michael A. Cohen (R) Image by Twitter and YouTube

By Josefin Dolsten May 19, 2016

Michael Cohen, Trump consigliere, meet Michael Cohen, Trump hater.

The two men have the same name, and wildly differing positions on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and probably on most other things as well.

One is Trump’s longtime close advisor and relentless defender; the other has called him a “misogynist demagogue” who stands no chance of being elected.

It’s a bit confusing to follow them both on Twitter.

One is a Trump-supporter who wants to make America great again.

Watch @realDonaldTrump tonight at 10pm on #foxnews with @seanhannity as they talk #MakeAmericaGreatAgain #Trump2016 pic.twitter.com/Fu8EUlNnSy

— Michael Cohen (@MichaelCohen212) May 19, 2016

And the other loves mocking the presumptive Republican nominee.

Trump 2016: “He’s Not A Fascist, Grabby-Hands Dictator (Ish)” https://t.co/v7iLY5g1Du

— Michael Cohen (@speechboy71) May 18, 2016

The executive vice president of the Trump Organization, Michael D. Cohen has been Trump’s cheerleader in the media. The Jewish lawyer said, for example, that Trump “never made any derogatory or disparaging remarks about Mexican immigrants,” a month after the presumptive Republican nominee was slammed for calling them rapists.

And the real estate mogul is quite smitten with Cohen as well, “In short, he’s a very smart person,” Trump has said of the Jewish lawyer.

Cohen’s Twitter page features mostly retweets of posts by Trump family members and relatives.

The Trump cheerleader even has a fan page of his own, @WomenforCohen. The account, seemingly created by someone enamored with the lawyer, describes him as: “Strong, pit bull, sex symbol, no nonsense, business oriented, and ready to make a difference!”

Taking #DonaldTrump to the next level. @MichaelCohen212 you are brilliant & intriguing #FlashbackFriday pic.twitter.com/UjBoWBts9K

— Women For Cohen (@WomenForCohen) May 13, 2016

Meanwhile, Michael A. Cohen is a columnist for the Boston Globe and a fellow at progressive think tank the Century Foundation. Out of his seven latest articles for the paper, six contained biting criticisms of Trump.

In an article published last week, Cohen argues that Trump has no chance of winning the presidential election. “I’m confident that the same country that twice elected an African-American president and has given the Democratic Party a majority in the popular vote in five of the last six presidential elections is not going to embrace a racist, misogynist demagogue,” he wrote.

While Jewish progressives are debating whether to support Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders, conservative members of the tribe have been divided on Trump. Recently, Breitbart writer David Horowitz drew ire after he accused Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol of being a “renegade Jew” for opposing Trump.

Kristol is among a group of neoconservative Jews pushing for a third party candidate as an alternative to Trump.

But other Jewish conservatives, such as former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer and celebrity rabbi Shmuley Boteach, have expressed support for Trump.

For common ground, the two Michael Cohens need to look a bit further back in time. United by an ancient name that hearkens to their priestly status during the days of the first and second Temples in Jerusalem, the doppelgangers are split only recently by modern politics.

It seems only time will tell who is on the right side of history.

In the photo, on the left, Trump supporter Michael D. Cohen and on the right, progressive columnist Michael A. Cohen

Contact Josefin Dolsten at [email protected] or on Twitter, @JosefinDolsten

Josefin Dolsten is a New York-based writer who has reported for the Forward, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Times of Israel and other Jewish publications. She currently works as an account director at Fenton Communications, supporting organizations that work to advance racial justice, LGBTQ+ equality, reproductive rights and more. Dolsten earned her B.A. in government from Cornell University and her M.A. in comparative religion and Jewish studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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