© Carlo Allegri / Reuters
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump reportedly had a hand in personally devising the marketing strategy for his controversial Trump University. The Donald vetted potential ads, was involved in discussions around them, and signed off “any time we had a new ad,” according to sworn testimony in a lawsuit concerning the for-profit real-estate school. Plaintiffs have said the marketing was misleading. The testimony has been made public as part of an order Friday from U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel. A request by The Washington Post claimed the public has a right to learn about a business—especially one under investigation—run by a potential president. Michael Sexton, Trump University’s president, said in the 2012 deposition: “Mr. Trump understandably is protective of his brand and very protective of his image and how he’s portrayed. And he wanted to see how his brand and image were portrayed in Trump University marketing materials. And he had very good and substantive input as well.” In the records released Tuesday, employees describe Trump University as a scam. Unearthed company manuals—or “playbooks”—revealed that staff members were told to aggressively steer particularly vulnerable customers toward expensive courses.