Michael Cohen claims Trump always hated daughter-in-law despite RNC endorsement

Trump ‘didn’t want Eric to even marry her. He had found somebody else that was working at the Trump Organization that he wanted Eric to marry,’ Cohen says

Former Trump lawyer and fixer turned critic Michael Cohen has said that the former president despised his daughter-in-law Lara Trump for “many years”.

Cohen’s comments come after Donald Trump endorsed her for co-chair of the Republican National Committee.

The ex-Trump ally was speaking to the co-founder of the left-leaning media outlet MeidasTouch, Ben Meiselas, when he shared his reaction to Mr Trump’s endorsement.

On Monday, Mr Trump put out a statement backing Michael Whatley, the RNC general counsel and chair of the North Carolina Republican Party, and a fellow election denier, to take over from RNC chair Ronna McDaniel.

“I think my friend Michael Whatley should be the RNC’s next leader,” Mr Trump said.

“Michael has been with me from the beginning, has done a great job in his home state of North Carolina, and is committed to election integrity, which we must have to keep fraud out of our election so it can’t be stolen.

“My very talented daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, has agreed to run as the RNC co-chair. Lara is an extremely talented communicator and is dedicated to all that MAGA stands for. She has told me she wants to accept this challenge and would be GREAT!”

Cohen, who was sent to prison for campaign finance violations and other crimes in connection to the 2016 campaign when he was still working for Mr Trump, said he wasn’t trying to be “mean” when he recalled Ms Trump as being “an idiot”.

“In fact, first and foremost, Donald didn’t even like her for many, many years,” Cohen said on the Political Beatdown podcast, hosted by Mr Meiselas. “He didn’t want Eric to even marry her. He had found somebody else that was working at the Trump Organization that he wanted Eric to marry.

“And of course, not only did Donald make fun of her looks, but so of course did” Donald Trump Jr and Ivanka, he added. “They all made fun of her looks. They just didn’t like her at all.”

“What most people don’t seem to understand is that the RNC is not there for Donald Trump,” Cohen said on the podcast, according to Newsweek. “The RNC is an organization that is supposed to be for every Republican that is running.”

The Independent has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.

Ms Trump married Eric Trump in 2014 at Mar-a-Lago. Cohen began working for the Trump Organization in 2006, eventually turning on the then-president in 2018 amid the criminal probe into him. He was sentenced to three years behind bars but left prison early amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Cohen has since testified against Mr Trump in the business fraud case against him in New York which is tied to the hush money payment Cohen orchestrated to adult actor Stormy Daniels who alleged that she had an affair with Mr Trump.

Mr Trump has attacked Cohen, claiming that he’s a liar and can’t be trusted.

Ms McDaniel is set to leave her post after the South Carolina Republican primary.

The party rules designate that one woman and one man serve as co-chairs of the RNC. Mr Trump has been discussing with aides the possibility of endorsing the wife of his son Eric to serve as one of the co-chairs.

Ms Trump has worked with the committee for years and has built a reputation as a strong fundraiser.

The daughter-in-law would also be trusted by the Trump family, which asserts influence over Mr Trump’s campaign and which follows how resources are used, The New York Times noted.

Ms Trump weighed running for US Senate in North Carolina in 2021.

Ms McDaniel has been under pressure for several months to step down as Mr Trump’s allies have attempted to push her out amid concerns about the RNC’s finances ahead of the general election campaign.

After she met Mr Trump at Mar-a-Lago, Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that Ms McDaniel was “now Head of the RNC, and I’ll be making a decision the day after the South Carolina Primary as to my recommendations for RNC Growth”.

Ms McDaniel has reportedly been thinking about resigning before the end of her term for quite a while.

As an organisation, the RNC focuses on turning out Republican voters and raising funds for the party. In 2016, the committee was forced to work with Mr Trump after he shocked the entire Republican field when he won the nomination and subsequently the general election. In 2020, the Trump campaign handed over a number of important functions to the committee, and during the 2024 campaign, the Trump team is expected to attempt to completely subsume the committee, The New York Times notes.

Ms McDaniel was the chair of the Michigan Republican Party between 2015 and 2017, taking the helm of the national committee just a day before Mr Trump’s inauguration in January of that year. Her predecessor, Reince Priebus, left the post to become Mr Trump’s first White House chief of staff.

While Ms McDaniel was set to serve until 2025, her relationship with Mr Trump began deteriorating as they squabbled over the Republican primary debates this campaign season, which featured Mr Trump’s challengers but not the former president who refused to take part.

Mr Trump pushed Ms McDaniel to cancel the debates, but she refused, according to The Washington Post.

Mr Trump was then on the receiving end of a long stream of criticism aimed at Ms McDaniel coming from rightwing donors, activists, as well as from his aides, worried about fundraising, with the RNC having about half the cash of the DNC at the end of last year.

Mr Trump has remained cordial in private with the outgoing chair, The Post reported. He hasn’t strongly urged her to leave despite the pushing from aides and donors.

But about two weeks ago, Mr Trump started telling people it was time for a change at the RNC.

And on Monday last week, a Newsmax reporter asked Mr Trump: “Is it time for Ronna McDaniel to step aside?”

Uncharacteristically gently, Mr Trump said: “I think she knows that, I think she understands that.”