[imagesource: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images]

Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, is the latest in a long list of people to write a book containing damning allegations about the current US president.

Trump’s own niece has slammed him, Bob Woodward’s bombshell Fear: Trump in the White House offered a wild look inside the hallways of America’s most powerful residence, and so did Fire and Fury.

The list goes on and on, including former West Wing communications aide Cliff Sims, with Team of Vipers, but sure, everyone else is lying and Donald and his inner circle are the victims here.

When it comes to Michael Cohen, and his book, Disloyal: A Memoir, it’s worth exercising some caution, given that Trump’s former ‘fixer’ is currently serving a three-year sentence for, among other things, making false statements to Congress.

That being said, it’s not terribly difficult to picture Trump saying many of the things Cohen accuses him off, with the book due to be published tomorrow.

The Washington Post has read a copy, and picked out some quotes that will be of interest to South Africans.

Cohen alleges that Trump’s hatred for his predecessor, Barack Obama, was apparent for all to see, but he wasn’t a fan of black people on the whole:

…Trump once said while ranting about Obama, “Tell me one country run by a black person that isn’t a s—hole. They are all complete f—ing toilets.”

According to Cohen, Trump went as far as to hire an actor to play Obama, before he “ritualistically belittled the first black president and then fired him”.

This image was included in the book:

Completely normal behaviour.

As for his comments about our own Nelson Mandela:

After South African President Nelson Mandela died in 2013, Trump said he did not think Mandela “was a real leader — not the kind he respected,” Cohen writes.

Instead, Cohen writes that Trump praised the country’s apartheid-era White rule, saying: “Mandela f—ed the whole country up. Now it’s a s—hole. F— Mandela. He was no leader.”

None of that surprises me in the slightest. None of it.

In response to the allegations in Cohen’s book, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said:

“Michael Cohen is a disgraced felon and disbarred lawyer, who lied to Congress. He has lost all credibility, and it’s unsurprising to see his latest attempt to profit off of lies.”

Given his history of lying, Cohen’s claims should be scrutinised. If they didn’t line up with countless other stories of Trump’s behaviour over the years, however, people might be less inclined to believe them.

Other claims in Cohen’s book include Trump making sexual remarks about girls as young as 15, belittling evangelical leaders who prayed for him, and cosying up to Russian President Vladimir Putin in order to further his business and political aims.

Not that any of the above will turn supporters against Trump, because by this point, they’ve simply dug their heels in.

When it comes to badmouthing America’s military personnel, though, Donnie may find it harder to wriggle off the hook.

[source:washpost]