On Friday, President-elect Donald Trump settled the cases concerning his fraudulent business Trump University for $25 million.
In three cases focused on his fraudulent “university,” Trump has agreed to settle them all to put the scandal to rest before his inauguration – and to prevent the President-elect from having to take the witness stand.
Now, for a man who claims to be a billionaire and has been making a killing selling MAGA hats and shirts, $25 million might not be much, but the settlement is yet another significant scratch on Trump’s business persona.
Considering how many times Trump has asserted that he doesn’t settle cases, that’s exactly what he did. According to his Twitter account, settling this case is a big regret for the President-elect.
The ONLY bad thing about winning the Presidency is that I did not have the time to go through a long but winning trial on Trump U. Too bad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 19, 2016
Of course, according to that same Twitter account back in February, Trump had no intentions of settling.
Trump University has a 98% approval rating. I could have settled but won’t out of principle!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 29, 2016
Trump University was a not insignificant scandal during the election, with cheated students coming forward to share their stories. Stories of bait-and-switch tactics and high-pressure sales pitches made many respond in disgust to Trump’s business ethics.
Through it all, Trump repeatedly defended his university fraud, and ultimately, the scandal wasn’t enough to tank his candidacy.
Now, around 6,000 injured persons will split the settlement cash, with $1 million going to New York state as a penalty for violating education laws.
Sad!
