Students say they were coerced to give Trump University positive reviews
Some students of Donald Trump’s now-defunct school say that they were forced to give Trump University positive reviews, according to interviews and documents published by The New York Times.
Robert Guillo said his glowing endorsement of the program came after a teacher begged for it, reportedly saying that without it, “Mr. Trump might not invite me back to teach again.”
{mosads}Jeffrey Tufenkian said his high ratings came as the result of his Trump University-assigned mentor refusing to leave the room until he gave the school excellent ratings.
John Brown said employees of Trump University called him multiple times, reportedly pushing for him to raise his poor review of the program. “I finally gave in,” he later testified after the series of phone calls.
Daniel Petrocelli, a lawyer for Trump, told the Times that such experiences of those who felt manipulated “is not representative of what happened across the board,” insisting, “Folks were not coerced.”
Three lawsuits have been filed against Trump’s school, with former students accusing Trump of defrauding them with lofty promises to learn about buying and selling real estate.
Earlier this week, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) said that despite the Republican presidential candidate’s claims, his school currently does not have an A rating and has been unrated since September.
The school had a D-minus rating in 2010, the last year it was active. Trump continues to fight the litigation, insisting that the reviews were overwhelmingly positive.
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