It’s hard to imagine what Michael Cohen and Kanye West would have to talk about, especially given the widely differing views they have expressed over the years about a certain ex-president.
But Cohen and West have been meeting up for coffee in New York City lately, even though Donald Trump’s one-time loyal fixer now vehemently hates his ex-boss and the billionaire rapper once was one of Trump’s biggest celebrity fans and infamously donned a MAGA hat to meet his political idol in the Oval Office.
Their most recent coffee meeting was Tuesday, when West arrived at an Upper East Side hotel coffee bear wearing a strange prosthetic mask he had been seen wearing at JFK Airport the day before, Page Six reported.
Kanye West dons bizarre mask for second Michael Cohen meeting https://t.co/Z9A8FmV8Xl pic.twitter.com/xlN0qrGU3h
— Page Six (@PageSix) October 19, 2021
When Page Six reached Cohen to ask about the meeting, the attorney declined to say what he and West talked about. But Cohen defended the rapper and fashion designer for wearing the mask. He said West wore it to ensure his privacy.
“The purpose (of the mask) was so that people would not recognize him … the first 10 minutes we sat down, he was mobbed by people … who wanted photos, and to say hello,” Cohen said. “So he put on this mask to give him some anonymity, which interestingly enough, did not really work.”
Yes, the mask “did not really work.” In fact, it only drew more attention to West, which probably was the point. West, of course, is known for his provocative and often unhinged public statements, performances and fashion statements. That includes his recent penchant for entirely covering his face in public with a variety of masks made of cloth or other materials.
The one West wore to meet Cohen was described as a “rubbery” and appearing to be “the face of a Caucasian woman with some smoky eyeshadow around the eyes,” Page Six said.
In August, the rapper, who recently got permission from a Los Angeles judge to legally change his name to “Ye,” covered his entire head in fabric for listening parties for his new “Donda” album. Last week, he wore a pale green-blue mask in Venice that made him look like an orc from “The Lord of the Rings” — or perhaps a more menacing cousin of “Shrek,” Page Six added.
Meanwhile, he’s met twice with Cohen. Their first meeting was earlier this month when West was in town to attend ex-wife Kim Kardashian West’s appearance as guest host on “Saturday Night Life,” TMZ reported. Maybe Cohen was trying to coax the rapper into being a guest on his popular “Mea Culpa” politics podcast.
TMZ noted that a West and Cohen meetup is “interesting for a couple reasons.” For one thing, Cohen is supposed to be on home confinement through November as he serves out the remainder of a three-year prison sentence for campaign finance fraud he says he committed on behalf of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Just before the 2016 election, Cohen made hush-money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels and ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal, who both alleged they had affairs with Trump. Cohen also pleaded guilty to tax fraud and lying to Congress.
Cohen was able to leave prison in May 2020, due to concerns about COVID-19, but was supposed to never leave his Manhattan apartment until he finished his sentence.
Cohen generated headlines in July when he dined out an an upscale French restaurant, raising questions about whether he was violating the terms of his home confinement. But his attorney told the New York Post that he had received special permission to leave his apartment for the dinner.
It’s not known if Cohen also received special permission to meet with West. It’s also not known if they hashed out their different experiences with Trump.
Cohen had once been fiercely loyal to Trump while working for him at the Trump Organization. But the disbarred attorney’s legal troubles and time in prison prompted him to see Trump in a new light. He wrote “Disloyal,” a best-selling, tell-all memoir about his time with Trump. On his podcast, he routinely rails against his ex-boss, calling him corrupt, racist, sexist, dangerous and a “cult leader.” He often chats with his mostly anti-Trump guests about the reasons he believes Trump and his family members should go to prison.
West, on the other hand, spent much of Trump’s term expressing his admiration for the former reality TV star’s leadership qualities. In addition to donning the MAGA hat during his bizarre 2018 Oval Office visit, West famously tweeted that Trump “is my brother” and proclaimed “we are both dragon energy.”
But West’s admiration for Trump became muted when he launched his own presidential campaign in July 2020, which was strangely executed and may have been ethically questionable, in that it appeared designed to siphon Black votes away from Joe Biden in certain swing states.
Still, West and Cohen might have more common ground on politics these days. In an interview with Forbes in July, West said he no longer supports Trump as president. “I am taking the red hat off, with this interview,” he said.
Then again, West still asserted that Trump is “special” — in ways that Biden is not.
“You know? Obama’s special,” West said. “Trump’s special. We say Kanye West is special. America needs special people that lead. Bill Clinton? Special. Joe Biden’s not special.”
