Trump University lawsuits, 2016

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Donald Trump's comments about a federal judge's ethnicity and his ability to fairly oversee lawsuits filed against the businessman placed increased scrutiny on Trump University, Trump's now-defunct business that offered "Apprentice"-style entrepreneurship, finance, real estate, and marketing seminars. Citing Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel's Mexican heritage, Trump argued that Curiel has not treated him fairly in lawsuits against Trump University because of his proposal to build a wall along the United States-Mexico border.

During the campaign, Curiel was overseeing overseeing two class action lawsuits against Trump and his associates filed by former Trump University students who alleged that Trump failed to provide quality faculty, one-on-one mentorships, materials directly created by Trump, and Trump's real estate investing secrets as promised in promotional advertising materials and seminars.

On November 18, 2016, Trump's legal team announced that Trump had agreed to pay a $25 million settlement for the Trump University cases.

HIGHLIGHTS

In 2005, Trump and his associates launched Trump University, which offered entrepreneurship, finance, real estate, and marketing seminars and mentorships.

There were, during the 2016 campaign, three pending cases against Trump and Trump University, one brought by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and two California-based class action lawsuits. Former Trump U. students claim that Trump did not provide the curriculum, resources, and opportunities promised.

Citing Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel's Mexican heritage, Trump argued that Curiel has not treated him fairly in lawsuits against Trump University because of his proposal to build a wall along the United States-Mexico border. GOP leaders have criticized Trump's for his racially-charged accusation.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal on June 2, 2016, Trump said that Judge Curiel had “an absolute conflict of interest” in the cases against Trump University because he was “of Mexican heritage” and a member of an association of Latino lawyers. “I’m building a wall. It’s an inherent conflict of interest,” Trump said.

During an interview on June 5, 2016, CBS's John Dickerson discussed Trump's criticism of Curiel and asked Trump if he thought a Muslim judge would treat him unfairly because of his call to ban Muslim immigrants from entering the country. Trump replied, “It’s possible, yes. Yeah. That would be possible. Absolutely.”

GOP leaders condemned Trump's racially-charged remarks about Curiel and urged him to stop his public criticism, which they feared would further alienate Hispanic voters from the Republican Party. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he disagreed with Trump's claim about Curiel. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said, "Look, the comment about the judge, just was out of left field for my mind. It's reasoning I don't relate to, I completely disagree with the thinking behind that."

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), who was considered a possible pick for vice president, said, "I don't know what Trump's reasoning was, and I don't care. His description of the judge in terms of his parentage is completely unacceptable."

Trump University, which was renamed Trump Entrepreneurship Initiative in 2010, five years after New York's Department of Education notified the business that it was violating state law by claiming to be an educational institution, is also facing a third lawsuit. In 2013, New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (D) filed a fraud lawsuit against Trump. In the suit, The People of The State of New York v. The Trump Entrepreneur Initiative, LLC., Schneiderman alleges that Trump and his associates "operated an unlicensed, illegal educational institution" and "[t]hrough their deceptive and unlawful practices, respondents intentionally mislead over 5000 individuals nationwide...into paying as much as $35,000 each to participate in live seminars and mentorship programs with the promise of learning Donald Trump's real estate investing techniques."

According to The New York Times, Trump's lawyer, Daniel Petrocelli, "said Mr. Trump believes the allegations are false. Mr. Petrocelli said participants in Trump University 'were very happy with the courses. They filled out surveys with extremely high ratings. There was a refund policy, and those who asked for refunds received them. And, long after the fact, after taking these courses, some people want their money back.”

Trump also created the website, 98percentapproval.com, "to bring to the public's attention the gross incompetence of New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman" and to prove that "as much as 98% of those students who participated in Trump University programs were not only satisfied with their Trump University experience, but would recommend the program to a friend."

Trump University

"Trump University Intro."

“	We are going to have professors and adjunct professors that are absolutely terrific, terrific brains, successful. We are going to have the best of the best. Honestly, if you don’t learn from them, if you don’t learn from me, if you don’t learn from the people that we will be putting forward — and these are all people who are going to be handpicked by me — then you are just not going to make it in terms of the world of success.	”
—Donald Trump in a video promoting Trump University

Background

In 2004, Donald Trump, Michael Sexton, and Jonathan Spitalny formed Trump University, and it officially launched in May 2005. According to a 2005 Bloomberg Business article, the plan was "to provide short, focused lessons in specific subjects that emphasize practice over theory. The first three courses available to students, at the price of $300 apiece, are introductions to real estate, marketing, and entrepreneurship." The students were supposed to complete assignments given to them through trumpuniversity.com "and submit their work to classmates for a peer review." Trump University also promised to provide students with "clickable videos of the professors, and Trump himself, offering words of wisdom;" a professor "available to students via an online bulletin board;" "feedback on the final assignment of each course;" "periodic live online Q&A sessions with Trump;" and "an 'Ask Mr. Trump'" online feature.

To publicize the online education program, Trump released ads and sent out marketing emails. In an ad, Trump said, "In just 90 minutes, my hand-picked instructors will share my techniques, which took my entire career to develop. Then, just copy exactly what I’ve done and get rich." In a Trump U marketing email, Trump wrote, "Seventy-six percent of the world’s millionaires made their fortunes in real estate. Now it’s your turn. My father did it, I did it, and now I’m ready to teach you how to do it."

According to the 2014 slip opinion of New York Supreme Court Justice Cynthia Kern, students participated in a free seminar and were encouraged to enroll in a three-day real estate seminar that cost $1,500. During the three-day seminar, students were encouraged by instructors to enroll in "Trump Elite Programs," which promised year-long mentorships starting at $20,000.

In 2005, New York's Department of Education notified Trump University that it was violating state law by claiming to be an educational institution. For five years, Trump University remained in violation of New York state law. In 2010, Trump University was renamed the Trump Entrepreneurship Initiative.

According to CBS News, "An internal 2010 memo shows Trump employees acknowledged the mentorship program was too difficult for the company to 'fulfill' and 'expectations are not always realistically set or consistently met.' The school stopped accepting students and began winding down in the summer of 2010."

The Trump University "Playbook"

A March 2014 Atlantic article uncovered the features of "a 41-page 'Private & Confidential' playbook printed on Trump University letterhead" that detailed how Trump University employees were expected to sell seminars and mentorships to prospective students. Here are the highlights of the playbook, according to The Atlantic:

“	The playbook posits a "Minimum Sales Goal" of $72,500 per seminar, meaning that the seminars leaders needed to convince at least 20 percent of attendees to sign up for three-day seminars costing $1,495. Under the heading 'Registration Goal & Procedure,' Trump U. staffers are instructed to 'Welcome attendees and build a Trump-esque atmosphere,' 'Disarm any uncertainty,' and 'Set the hook.' The hook in this case consists of selling seminar attendees on increasingly costly additional courses, culminating in the 'Trump Gold Elite' package, for a cool $34,995. Pricey, yes, but the playbook notes that the list price of the Trump Gold Elite package is $49,415, a savings to students of 29 percent. The seminars were usually held in hotel meeting rooms, and the playbook spells out in painstaking detail how the space should be set up. Chairs should be close enough together to give attendees sufficient space, while still 'bringing attendees out of their comfort zone.' Room temperature should be set at 'no more than 68 degrees.' A sales corral was to be set up within close proximity to the door, 'so that attendees need to walk past sales tables in order to exit.' It was at the sales tables that Trump U. staffers would hawk the pricey seminar packages. As soon as attendees entered the registration area, the song 'For the Love of Money' by the O’Jays greeted them. 'Reporters are rarely on your side and they are not sympathetic,' the playbook advises, adding, 'reporters use hidden cameras, placing them at odd angles in order to show a candid response, and the interviewee appears nervous and/or caught off guard.' The playbook says almost nothing about the guest speaker presentations, the ostensible reason why people showed up to the seminar in the first place. The playbook instructs a staffer designated as 'Sales Coordinator #1' to scan the room for 'buyer signals,' such as 'positive body language' and favorable responses to speaker questions. Meanwhile, other Trump staffers waited for the speaker to flash a pre-arranged 'trigger slide' onto the projection screen. The slide was the signal for staffers to switch into high-octane sales mode. As soon as the slide flashed on the screen, Trump team members quickly set up a sales area in the back of the room and mentally prepared themselves to close deals. As the playbook puts it, 'Team Mans The Sales Area, Stands Up, Is Attentive to Speaker and Attendee Movement, Gets in Sales Mindset, and is Ready to Sell, Sell, Sell!' The playbook instructs Sales Coordinator #1 to 'Close Sales At Sales Table and Facilitate Enrollment Armed with Objection Rebuttals,' while Sales Coordinator #2 'Floats and Closes More Sales, Getting Additional Attendees Seated at Back Sales Table, Armed with Objection Rebuttals.' Meanwhile, the Program Coordinator 'Works the Room with Special Attention To Team Members In Possession of a Credit Card that Needs to Be Run.' At one point, the playbook advises Trump staffers: 'If a district attorney arrives on the scene, contact the appropriate media spokesperson immediately.'	”
—Tom McNichol, The Atlantic

Former Trump U. staff

Former Trump University staff members said that when Trump launched the educational program, it seemed like a high-quality resource for individuals seeking marketing, real estate, and business knowledge. However, the program quickly took a different course. According to The Wall Street Journal, "the program all but ditched its online courses and Ivy League instructors by mid-2007 to focus on seminars teaching how to make it big in the business with little upfront investment." The following former Trump University staff members explained their experiences:

• John Vogel, an adjunct professor at Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business, said, “There were some pretty legitimate people involved at the beginning. ... Had I realized they were going to change course from providing high-quality online education to something that was closer to a boiler room operation and these ‘how to get rich’ seminars, I never would have gotten involved."

• Roger Schank, "a former Yale University and Northwestern University professor considered a leader in online course design who took the title of chief learning officer," said, “I was set up to believe, and this was true for a while, that this was going to be the avant-garde right way to do teaching.”

• Karen Slavick-Lennard, "who managed a robotics lab before becoming a project manager and content developer at Trump University from April 2005 until March 2007," said, “I was never comfortable with the fact that it was called Trump University. But we were making really good quality, useful stuff for people trying to take control over their own lives and have their own businesses." According to The Wall Street Journal, "Ms. Slavick-Lennard said her role changed from creating course content to serving as an event planner in early 2007, as the company moved to live seminars. She organized two early sessions, in Miami and Los Angeles, but left a few months later, saying the work was 'not fulfilling.'"

BBB rating

During the March 3, 2016, Republican debate, Trump claimed that Trump University earned "a 98 percent approval rating from the people who took the course. We have an 'A' from the Better Business Bureau."

Marco Rubio countered that "The Better Business Bureau gave it a 'D' minus."

After the debate, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) released a statement on March 8, 2016, to correct inaccurate reports that circulated about the BBB and Trump University. According to the BBB:

• "Trump University does not currently have an A rating with BBB. The BBB Business Review for this company has continually been 'No Rating' since September 2015. Prior to that, it fluctuated between D- and A+."

• "During the period when Trump University appeared to be active in the marketplace, BBB received multiple customer complaints about this business. These complaints affected the Trump University BBB rating, which was as low as D- in 2010. As the company appeared to be winding down, after 2013, no new complaints were reported. Complaints over three years old automatically rolled off of the Business Review, according to BBB policy. As a result, over time, Trump University’s BBB rating went to an A in July 2014 and then to an A+ in January 2015."

• "Trump University has never been a BBB Accredited Business."

Lawsuits against Trump and Trump U.

Makaeff, et al. v. Trump University

Makaeff, et al. v. Trump University
Date filed: April 2010
Plaintiffs: Tarla Makaeff, Brandon Keller, Ed Oberkrom, Sonny Low, J.R. Everett, and John Brown
Defendants: The Trump Entrepreneur Initiative (Trump University) and Donald Trump
Status: Pending

In a September 2012 complaint to the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, plaintiffs Tarla Makaeff, Brandon Keller, Ed Oberkrom, Sonny Low, J.R. Everett, and John Brown claimed that "rather than serving its students as a university or college, Defendant Trump University is more like an infomercial, selling non-accredited products, such as sales workshops, luring customers in with the name and reputation of its founder and Chairman, billionaire land mogul Donald J. Trump. Defendant Trump and his so-called University promise 'mentorships,' urging consumers that it’s the 'next best thing' to being Donald Trump’s next 'Apprentice.' But as class members quickly find out, all Defendants provide are empty promises. The primary lesson Trump University teaches its students is how to spend more money by buying more Trump Seminars."

Trump filed a "$1 million defamation counter-claim against Makaeff," but, in June 2014, a judge dismissed the claim and ordered Trump to pay $798,000 in legal fees to Makaeff.

The plaintiffs asked for the case to go to trial during the summer of 2016, but, on March 18, 2016, Trump's lawyers asked for the trial to be delayed until after the 2016 presidential election. On May 7, 2016, United States District Court for the Southern District of California Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel scheduled jury selection to begin on November 28, 2016.

Cohen v. Donald J. Trump

Cohen v. Donald J. Trump
Date filed: October 2013
Plaintiff: Art Cohen
Defendant: Donald J. Trump
Status: Pending

In his October 2013 complaint to the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, Art Cohen, a businessman who attended Trump University, claimed that Trump "ensnared Plaintiff [Cohen] and thousands of other student-victims in a fraudulent scheme nationwide to sell real estate seminars and mentorships ('Live Events') by trading on the Trump moniker. Defendant uniformly misled Plaintiff and the Class that they would learn Donald Trump's real estate secrets through him and his handpicked professors at his elite 'University.' The misleading nature of the enterprise is embodied by its very name. That is because, though Defendant promised 'Trump University,' he delivered neither Donald Trump nor a University."

The complaint also explained that Cohen "would not have paid for any of the Trump University programs had he known that he would not have access to Donald Trump's real estate investing secrets, that Trump had no meaningful role in selecting the instructors for the Live Events, and/or that Trump University was not a 'University,' as Defendant had represented to him." Cohen is seeking damages for himself and others who attended Trump University.

Trump's criticism of Judge Gonzalo Curiel

Trump has been critical of United States District Court for the Southern District of California Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel, who is presiding over Makaeff, et al. v. Trump University and Cohen v. Donald J. Trump. Citing Curiel's Mexican heritage, Trump has argued that Curiel has not treated him fairly because of his proposal to build a wall along the United States-Mexico border.

June 5, 2016
During an interview on June 5, 2016, CBS's John Dickerson discussed Trump's criticism of Curiel and asked Trump if he thought a Muslim judge would treat him unfairly because of his call to ban Muslim immigrants from entering the country. Trump replied, “It’s possible, yes. Yeah. That would be possible. Absolutely.”

Dickerson then "said there was a tradition in the United States, a nation of immigrants, against judging people based on heritage."

Trump replied, “I’m not talking about tradition, I’m talking about common sense, O.K.?”

During an interview later in the day, Trump reiterated his stance that Curiel has not treated him fairly because of his plan to build a border wall. Trump said, “He is a member of a club or society, very strongly pro-Mexican, which is all fine. But I say he’s got bias. I want to build a wall. I’m going to build a wall. I’m doing very well with the Latinos, with the Hispanics, with the Mexicans, I’m doing very well with them, in my opinion.”

June 2, 2016
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal on June 2, 2016, Trump said that Judge Curiel had “an absolute conflict of interest” in the case because he was “of Mexican heritage” and a member of an association of Latino lawyers. “I’m building a wall. It’s an inherent conflict of interest,” Trump said. He added that he might have his lawyers file a motion to request the case be reassigned. Trump also alleged that Jason Forge, one of the Trump University plaintiffs’ lawyers, was a friend of Curiel's. Although they "once worked together as federal prosecutors," Forge said in an interview that "he had never seen the judge socially." Forge added, “Neither Judge Curiel’s ethnicity nor the fact that we crossed paths as prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office well over a decade ago is to blame [for Mr. Trump’s actions]."

On the same day, Trump tweeted that he intended to have his executives reopen Trump University once the lawsuits against it were “disposed of and the case won” because there was “so much interest in it.”

May 27, 2016

"Full Event: Donald Trump Holds Rally in San Diego, CA (5-27-16)."

For 12 minutes of a 58-minute campaign speech in San Diego, California on May 27, 2016, Trump criticized Judge Curiel, calling him "a hater," a "Mexican," and "hostile."

Trump said to the crowd,

“

I have a judge who is a hater of Donald trump. He’s a hater. His name is Gonzalo Curial. And he is not doing the right thing. ... But I am getting railroaded by a legal system, and frankly they should be ashamed. I will be here in November. Hey, if I win as president, it is a civil case. I could have settled this case numerous times. But I don’t want to settle cases when we are right. I don’t believe in it. When you start settling cases, do you know what happens? Everybody sues you because you get known as a settler. One thing about me, I am not known as the settler. And people understand with this whole thing, with this whole deal with the lawyers, class action lawyers are the worst. It is a scam. Here is what happens. We are in front of a very hostile judge. The judge was appointed by by Barrack Obama – federal judge. [Boos]. Frankly he should recuse himself. He has given us ruling after ruling, negative, negative, negative.

”

Trump also commented on Curiel's ethnicity, saying, “What happens is the judge, who happens to be, we believe, Mexican, which is great. I think that’s fine.” Curiel is an American who was born in East Chicago, Indiana to Mexican immigrants.

On the same day, Curiel signed an order to unseal court records in the case against Trump U. “Defendant became the front-runner for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential race, and has placed the integrity of these court proceedings at issue,” he wrote in the order. More than 1,000 pages related to the case, including the “playbooks” which instructed salesmen on how to market Trump University courses, will be available for public view.

February 27, 2016
During a campaign event on February 27, 2016, Trump claimed that Judge Curiel treated Trump in a "hostile" manner. He said, "There is a hostility toward me by the judge — tremendous hostility — beyond belief. I believe he happens to be Spanish, which is fine. He’s Hispanic, which is fine. And we haven’t asked for a recusal, which we may do. But we have a judge who’s very hostile."

The next day, when asked on "Fox News Sunday" what Curiel's ethnicity had to do with the lawsuit against him, Trump said, "I think it has to do perhaps with the fact that I'm very, very strong on the border, very, very strong at the border, and he has been extremely hostile to me."

Judicial code of conduct

Curiel has not responded to Trump's criticism because the judicial code of conduct prevents him from doing so. In addition, the code of conduct prohibits judges "from publicly endorsing or opposing a candidate for public office;" however, "in at least one rare instance, judges came to the defense of a colleague they believed was being unfairly targeted with political attacks." According to The Wall Street Journal, "During the 1996 presidential campaign, both President Bill Clinton and Sen. Bob Dole, the Republican nominee, criticized a Clinton-appointed New York federal judge, Harold Baer, who excluded prosecutors’ evidence in a high-profile narcotics case. In response, four judges on the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a statement in defense of Judge Baer, saying the officials’ remarks had gone 'too far' and could intimidate other judges. Judge Baer later reversed his ruling, though he said it wasn’t because of political pressure. He eventually took himself off the case."

Matter of People of the State of N.Y. v. Trump Entrepreneur Initiative LLC.

Matter of People of the State of N.Y. v. Trump Entrepreneur Initiative LLC.
Date filed: August 2013
Petitioner: New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman
Respondents: The Trump Entrepreneur Initiative (Trump University), Donald Trump, and Michael Sexton
Status: Pending

In The People of The State of New York v. The Trump Entrepreneur Initiative, LLC., New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (D) alleges that Trump and his associates engaged in "deceptive acts and practices and false advertising" about the educational program that they offered. Students were promised that their teachers would be real estate "experts" who were "handpicked" by Trump, which was not the case. They were also promised that they would "recoup the cost of the courses in a few months with 'insider' access to special financing and close mentoring by Trump instructors who would coach students through their first real estate deal." In addition, students were promised that they would learn Trump's "personal strategies and techniques for real estate investing," but they were not. The materials for the course were created by a third party organization, not Trump.

Although Trump University claimed that Trump would not profit from the fees students paid, Schneiderman claims that "Trump netted about $5 million in profit."

On April 26, 2016, a New York court ruled that the suit against Trump "would still have to go to trial, even though Schneiderman had asked the court for a ruling based on the evidence already presented." A trial date has not been set, but it will likely take place this fall.

Commenting on the court's decision, Trump's attorney Alan Garten said, "We are extremely pleased that the Supreme Court has yet again rejected the Attorney General's attempt to avoid a trial."

Ethics commission review

In December 2013, Trump filed a complaint against Schneiderman for soliciting campaign donations from his daughter, Ivanka Trump, while Schneiderman was investigating Trump University. In August 2015, New York's ethics commission closed their investigation into Schneiderman and dropped Trump's complaint, according to U.S. News.

Alan Garten, Trump's attorney, said, "The decision by the commission not to proceed demonstrates that it's just a facade."

Schneiderman returned the $500 donation check to Ivanka Trump.

Trump's criticism of Schneiderman

During a campaign event on February 27, 2016, Trump accused Schneiderman and President Barack Obama of conspiring against him. Trump said, "He meets with Obama, gets a campaign contribution, I think. And all of a sudden, he meets with Obama in, I believe Syracuse, and the following day or two he brings a lawsuit against me." Trump also noted that Schneiderman received a campaign contribution from the law firm that is suing him and that Schneiderman is "not respected in New York."

February 2016 presidential debate

During the February 25, 2016, GOP debate, Marco Rubio said that Donald Trump lied to students at Trump University. Rubio said, "There are people who borrowed $36,000 to go to Trump University, and they're suing now -- $36,000 to go to a university.... that's a fake school. And you know what they got? They got to take a picture with a cardboard cutout of Donald Trump..." Rubio was citing the experiences of Trump U. students who have filed two lawsuits against Trump and his university.

Trump defended his university, saying, "They actually did a very good job, and I’ve won most of the lawsuits."

Later in the debate, Ted Cruz discussed the status of one of the lawsuits against Trump, saying, "You know, Marco made reference earlier to the litigation against Trump University. It's a fraud case. His lawyers have scheduled the trial for July. I want you to think about, if this man is the nominee, having the Republican nominee...on the stand in court, being cross-examined about whether he committed fraud. You don't think the mainstream media will go crazy on that?"

Trump replied, "[L]et me just tell you, the Trump University case is a civil case. Not a -- it's a civil case. It's a case where people want to try and get -- it's a case that is nonsense. It's something I could have settled many times. I could settle it right now for very little money, but I don't want to do it out of principle. The people that took the course all signed -- most -- many -- many signed report cards saying it was fantastic, it was wonderful, it was beautiful. As -- and believe me, I'll win that case. That's an easy case. Civil case."

Trump's claim that he has "won most of the lawsuits" is untrue. There are three pending cases against Trump and Trump University, one brought by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (D) and two California-based class action lawsuits.

A Washington Post fact-check gave Trump's claim "three pinocchios," which means it contains "[si]gnificant factual error and/or obvious contradictions" and is in "the realm of 'mostly false.'" According to Washington Post reporter Michelle Ye Hee Lee, "Trump can claim some court rulings favorable to himself, but so can the plaintiffs. Trump also creates a misleading characterization of the plaintiffs filing the lawsuit against him, saying they signed an evaluation praising the program but are suing them just to get their money back. The charges in the lawsuit originate from attendees’ complaints that they were misled into paying tens of thousands of dollars for a mentoring and training program that didn’t deliver what it advertised. Trump goes too far downplaying the allegations, by saying most of it is already resolved. That’s just not the case."

Settlement

On November 18, 2016, Trump's legal team announced that Trump had agreed to pay a $25 million settlement for the cases. Trump agreed to pay $21 million to settle the class-action lawsuits in California and $4 million to settle the case with the New York attorney general's office. According to The New York Times, a court will need to approve the settlement, "which could take months."

Trump University ads

Anti-Trump U. ads

Democratic National Committee, "New Trump University Ad: How to Run for President like the Donald," March 9, 2016.

Our Principles PAC, "TV Ad: "Scam," March 2, 2016.

• On March 9, 2016, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) released a digital ad in Florida, Ohio, and North Carolina that focused on the lawsuits filed against Trump University. Eric Walker, deputy communications director for the DNC, said, “We’re going to be shifting our focus more toward Donald Trump. We’re not going to be caught flat-footed like the Republican campaigns who made the mistake of not taking Donald Trump seriously.”

• On March 2, 2016, Our Principles PAC, and anti-Trump group, released the ad, "Scam," which called Trump University "phony" and a "massive scam."

American Future Fund ads

American Future Fund, "Sherri," February 26, 2016.

American Future Fund, "Kevin," February 26, 2016.

American Future Fund, "Bob," February 26, 2016.

• After Marco Rubio called Trump U. a fake university in the February 25 GOP debate, American Future Fund, a 501(c)(4) "with a conservative and free market viewpoint," began airing ads that featured the stories of three people who said that they were tricked into spending a lot of money on Trump University without receiving the educational experience that they were promised. The ads were filmed in December.

• During an interview on "Fox News Sunday" on February 28, 2016, Trump was asked about the ads, and he defended the university, saying, "I’ll tell you about the school. It had an A rating from the Better Business Bureau, and the people that I think you even have on there have given a great report card. Ninety-eight percent of the people that took the courses, 98 percent approved [of] the courses. They thought they were terrific."

American Future Fund, "Cliff," March 10, 2016.

• On March 5, 2016, American Future Fund began airing the ad, "Cliff," in Florida. Cliff, "a former salesman" for Trump University, said in the ad, "I was ashamed to work there. ... I think I walked away from the job because I thought it would be easier for me to sleep at night."

Pro-Trump U. ads

Donald Trump, "Former Students Speak Out in Defense of Trump University," June 1, 2016.

Donald Trump, "Trump University Truth," March 7, 2016.

• On June 1, 2016, Trump released the ad, "Former Students Speak Out in Defense of Trump University," which featured former Trump University students praising their experience in Trump's program. The campaign released a statement, saying, "The students on this video are representative of the many students who were overwhelmingly satisfied with Trump University. Rather than listen to the media spin, listen to the hard-working students who can attest first-hand to the truth about Trump University."

• Casey Hoban, one of the students in the ad, is "a Trump family acquaintance whose protein-infused water is stocked at some of Trump's golf courses, restaurants and resorts," according to CBS News.

• Michelle Gunn, another student in the ad, also has ties to Trump. According to CBS News, Trump "endorsed a self-help book authored by Gunn's teenage son. ... A website promoting the book also features a photo of a smiling Houston Gunn posing with Trump in what appears to be the then reality TV star's Trump Tower office."

• On March 7, 2016, Trump released the ad, "Trump University Truth." In the ad, Trump read the reviews that Bob Guillo and Kevin Scott, men who appeared in the American Future Fund ads above, gave of Trump University. Trump said, “Here’s his [Guillo's] report card on the school … excellent, excellent, excellent, all excellent. ... Then we have the other person, Kevin Scott … he gives a ‘5+’ — as high as you can go. He’s another one who is in the commercial saying horrible things. ... We have 98% of the people that took the courses have reports like this. Why would anybody settle a case when we have reports like this?”

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term Trump + University

Trump University News Feed

See also

• Donald Trump
• Presidential election, 2016
• Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel