Trump University Issue in the 2016 Presidential Election Campaign

During the Republican presidential primaries of 2016, opponents of Trump's candidacy used Trump University to criticize him. Mitt Romney said in early March: "Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud. His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University." Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio raised the subject during televised debates in February and March. One debate moderator, Megyn Kelly of Fox News, pursued the issue at length. Trump responded that Trump University was "a small business" and student evaluations were overwhelmingly positive. He said lawsuits were a routine part of business and that he wins most of them. Of one of the class action suits he said: "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." Hillary Clinton used the Trump University allegations against Trump in speeches and campaign ads.