Michael Cohen has a warning for those trying to get close to his former boss.
"While most of the wealthy Trump sycophants have achieved significant financial success, they are basically unknown," Cohen told Newsweek. "To them, fame and notoriety is what they seek. Trump offers them a taste of this; albeit a small taste."
What Donald Trump is not willing to offer them is "a plate at the dinner table."
"He eats alone," Cohen, a Trump-loyalist-turned-defector, warned.
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung responded to Cohen's remarks, calling him "a disgruntled disgrace and a total loser."
"He is a disbarred former attorney, who has repeatedly lied on record to every branch of the federal government, including the Courts in the Manhattan DA and New York AG Hoaxes," Cheung told Newsweek.
"He even admitted in testimony to stealing $60,000 from President Trump. His sole source of income is based entirely on lying about President Trump in unhinged public screeds. Nothing Mr. Cohen says can be trusted and now that his 15 minutes of fame have expired, he is more desperate than ever."
Trump's third presidential bid has attracted an influx of billionaires, some returning to Trump world and some joining for the first time.
Elon Musk, the world's richest man, has been the most prominent member of the club, which also includes Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman, oil and gas magnate Harold Hamm, hedge funders John Paulson and Bill Ackman, WWE's Linda McMahon, casino mogul Sheldon Adelson's widow Miriam Adelson, real estate investor Steve Witkoff and Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lunick, among many others.
There have also been a number of billionaires and corporate executives who have steered clear of the 2024 race, despite criticizing Trump in the past, likely out of fear for retribution in a second Trump term. Jeff Bezos, the second richest man in the world, instructed the Washington Post, which he owns, not to endorse a presidential candidate this cycle, leading to theories the Amazon founder wants to avoid getting on Trump's bad side should he reclaim the White House.
But Cohen, who built his reputation as the former president's personal "pitbull," argues that those cozying up to Trump are looking for something that their money can't buy them.
"There are billionaires out there who, for whatever the reason might be, their money is not enough," Cohen said. "They want the Trump fame. They want the Trump notoriety. They want the Trump acknowledgement, the celebrity status."
The former fixer said these are individuals who might be well-known in their circles, whether it be in Wall Street or Silicon Valley, but can also go about their daily lives without being noticed by regular people, or attend a cocktail party without attendees taking out their phones.
"[They] could into any restaurant and nobody would know who the hell [they are]," Cohen said. "[They] could walk around the Hamptons at the art fair, and no one has half a clue who the hell [they are]."
"Donald Trump, when he goes walking in the street, is recognizable," he said.
"We used to do this all the time, like when we would leave, for example, Trump Tower and walk over to the GM building two blocks away. There'd be a thousand people following him, photos, asking autographs and so on. There's a fame and a notoriety that you just cannot pay for."
Cohen argued that Musk, even with his vast fortune, still doesn't have the level of celebrity Trump carries, which is why he believes the billionaire is increasingly engaging with Trump and his campaign.
"He's now beginning to get significant attention and adulation," Cohen said.
But that could easily become a problem in Trump world, where "you're never allowed to upstage the king."
Cohen said Trump is willing to share the limelight with his high-profile supporters for a short period of time, but that the second they begin getting the type of recognition that Musk received at Sunday's Madison Square Garden rally, Trump will reconsider how close that relationship should be.
"The applause and the cheers for Elon were greater than when Trump came out. Don't think for a second that that's not being noticed by Trump," Cohen said.
"Policy doesn't matter to him. Facts don't matter to him. What matters to him is the size of the crowd and the applause that he gets. That's all he cares about."
"It's not just Elon Musk that's going to ultimately get pushed out and lose everything— their name, their reputation, their honor, their family's honor and so on," added Cohen, who went to federal prison for campaign-finance crimes he committed while working for Trump.
"There's a lot more people that are in Trump's camp who are going to suffer the same sort of fate that I, Mike Lindell, Rudy Giuliani [did]. Elon Musk will ultimately fall into that same category."
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