# Donald Trump's 2016 General Election Campaign **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 4, 2016, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901 "2016-05-04T02:37:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 54
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1061 "2016-06-07T19:55:39Z")
We’ve been over this before, in connection with Justice Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings. NCLR is a lot more like the NAACP than, say, the Nation of Islam or the Klan. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1062 "2016-06-07T20:22:29Z")
[Trump issues new statement](http://jamiedupree.blog.ajc.com/2016/06/07/trump-statement-on-trump-university-case/), no apology, no refuting past statements and a promise to shut up about it. _snerk_ > [@](#): > > Here is Trump’s full statement, as sent to reporters: > > ``` > It is unfortunate that my comments have been misconstrued as a categorical attack against people of Mexican heritage. I am friends with and employ thousands of people of Mexican and Hispanic descent. The American justice system relies on fair and impartial judges. All judges should be held to that standard. I do not feel that one’s heritage makes them incapable of being impartial, but, based on the rulings that I have received in the Trump University civil case, I feel justified in questioning whether I am receiving a fair trial. > > Over the past few weeks, I have watched as the media has reported one inaccuracy after another concerning the ongoing litigation involving Trump University. There are several important facts the public should know and that the media has failed to report. > > Throughout the litigation my attorneys have continually demonstrated that students who participated in Trump University were provided a substantive, valuable education based upon a curriculum developed by professors from Northwestern University, Columbia Business School, Stanford University and other respected institutions. And, the response from students was overwhelming. Over a five year period, more than 10,000 paying students filled out surveys giving the courses high marks and expressing their overwhelming satisfaction with Trump University’s programs. For example: > > • Former student Tarla Makaeff, the original plaintiff in the litigation, not only completed multiple surveys rating Trump University’s three-day seminar “excellent” in every category, but also praised Trump University’s mentorship program in a glowing 5 plus minute video testimonial. When asked “how could Trump University help to meet [her] goals”, she simply stated “[c]ontinue to offer great classes.” Once the plaintiffs’ lawyers realized how disastrous a witness she was, they asked to have her removed from the case. Over my lawyers’ objections, the judge granted the plaintiffs’ motion, but allowed the case to continue. > > • Art Cohen, a lead plaintiffs in the litigation, completed a survey in which he not only rated Trump University’s three-day seminar “excellent” in virtually every category, but went so far as to indicate that he would “attend another Trump University seminar” and even “recommend Trump University seminars to a friend.” When asked how Trump University could improve the seminar, Mr. Cohen’s only suggestion was to “[h]ave lunch sandwiches brought in” and make the lunch break 45 minutes. > > • Former student Bob Giullo, who has been critical of Trump University in numerous interviews and negative advertisements from my political opponents, also expressed his satisfaction, rating Trump University’s programs “excellent” in every category. When asked how Trump University could improve its programs, Mr. Giullo simply asked that students be provided “more comfortable chairs.” > Indeed, these are just a few of literally thousands of positive surveys, all of which can be viewed online at http://www.98percentapproval.com. > > For those students who decided that Trump University’s programs were not for them, the company had a generous refund policy, offering a full refund to any student who asked for their money back within 3 days of signing up for a program or by the end of the first day of any multi-day program, whichever came later. > > Normally, legal issues in a civil case would be heard in a neutral environment. However, given my unique circumstances as nominee of the Republican Party and the core issues of my campaign that focus on illegal immigration, jobs and unfair trade, I have concerns as to my ability to receive a fair trial. > > I am fighting hard to bring jobs back to the United States. Many companies – like Ford, General Motors, Nabisco, Carrier – are moving production to Mexico. Drugs and illegal immigrants are also pouring across our border. This is bad for all Americans, regardless of their heritage. > > Due to what I believe are unfair and mistaken rulings in this case and the Judge’s reported associations with certain professional organizations, questions were raised regarding the Obama appointed Judge’s impartiality. It is a fair question. I hope it is not the case. > > While this lawsuit should have been dismissed, it is now scheduled for trial in November. I do not intend to comment on this matter any further. With all of the thousands of people who have given the courses such high marks and accolades, we will win this case! > > Donald J. Trump > > ``` ---
**Author:** ![Pashnish\_Ewing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8797f3/32.png) [@Pashnish\_Ewing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pashnish_Ewing)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1063 "2016-06-07T21:19:58Z")
It should be easy to get current testimonials from a few successful TU grads then, eh? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1064 "2016-06-07T21:26:09Z")
Lots of claims to be verified and fact-checked. This should shut the press up! ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1065 "2016-06-07T21:39:12Z")
> [@Pashnish\_Ewing](#): > > It should be easy to get current testimonials from a few successful TU grads then, eh? The video of testimonials he put out failed to document that the people talking about how great it was, all have business deals with Trump. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1066 "2016-06-07T21:56:27Z")
Well, then, we can ask ourselves, why would it be the case that the first four happy campers he pulls out are not so much happy as beholden. This case has been on for awhile, so, sure, I would expect Trump’s lawyers to canvas ex-students to enlist them as testimonials. So how come they got to come forward with these? With so many thousands of graduates pleased and satisfied, they only had these on hand? ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1067 "2016-06-07T22:45:11Z")
These “reviews” he is referring to are what we in the adult education field call “smile sheets”. These are the end of class surveys passed out at the end of a day of training that basically ask bullshit questions like “did this course meet your expectations?” and etc. If this is what he is basing his claims of thousands of satisfied students", then that is just weak sauce. They are called smile sheets because 99% of people put no effort into being truthful or introspective on them. The reality is they spend 45 seconds ticking the highest box, and if they are forced to write something will write “great job”, “really liked the trainer” or the like. If they write anything critical, it will be some variation on these three items: [ul] [li]Chairs were uncomfortable[/li][li]Room was too cold/hot[/li][li]Lunch was great/bad/too short.[/li][/ul] The end of class survey is a “reaction survey”, it measures how people “feel” about what they just sat through. It is the lowest level of evaluation of the effectiveness of a training course. In no way does it measure how effective a training class is. It would be interesting to see if TU has any data on Kirkpatrick levels 2-4. In other words, the fact that some plaintiffs filled out positive or neutral “smile sheets” in no way shows that they actually gained any positive skill or benefitted from attending, so they do nothing to disprove the plaintiff’s later dissatisfaction. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1068 "2016-06-07T23:18:00Z")
> [@leftfield6](#): > > These “reviews” he is referring to are what we in the adult education field call “smile sheets”. These are the end of class surveys passed out at the end of a day of training that basically ask bullshit questions like “did this course meet your expectations?” and etc. > > If this is what he is basing his claims of thousands of satisfied students", then that is just weak sauce. > > They are called smile sheets because 99% of people put no effort into being truthful or introspective on them. The reality is they spend 45 seconds ticking the highest box, and if they are forced to write something will write “great job”, “really liked the trainer” or the like. If they write anything critical, it will be some variation on these three items: > [ul] > [li]Chairs were uncomfortable[/li][li]Room was too cold/hot[/li][li]Lunch was great/bad/too short.[/li][/ul] > > The end of class survey is a “reaction survey”, it measures how people “feel” about what they just sat through. It is the lowest level of evaluation of the effectiveness of a training course. In no way does it measure how effective a training class is. It would be interesting to see if TU has any data on Kirkpatrick levels 2-4. > > In other words, the fact that some plaintiffs filled out positive or neutral “smile sheets” in no way shows that they actually gained any positive skill or benefitted from attending, so they do nothing to disprove the plaintiff’s later dissatisfaction. It also ignores the crux of the case: that the instructors were not, as advertised, hand picked experts in the field of real estate. It doesn’t matter if students were satisfied while they were sitting in class. It doesn’t even matter if they made money investing in real estate. What matters is that they were willing to pay a substantial fee based on a promise that they were getting instruction from real estate experts personally associated with the Donald. This association is what made the high tuition (presumably) worthwhile. And it was a lie: he had only token involvement, and the instructors were mere salespeople. That is the fraud, regardless of whether or not the people realized it as they sat in the classroom. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1069 "2016-06-07T23:27:29Z")
You mean lunch was included? I want to hear more about this lunch. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1070 "2016-06-07T23:31:18Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > You mean lunch was included? > > I want to hear more about this lunch. The bread was wonderful. And it was the BEST peanut butter. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2016, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1071 "2016-06-08T01:05:21Z")
> **[Iowa state senator is first elected official to leave Republican party over...](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jun/07/david-johnson-iowa-state-senator-leaves-republican-party-trump)** > > David Johnson changes registration to No Party in response to Donald Trump accusing federal judge Gonzalo Curiel of bias based on his race An Iowa state senator is the first elected GOP official to leave the party over Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2016, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1072 "2016-06-08T01:39:27Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > If Eisenhower were alive today, he would bust Trump to Private First Class Nah, buck private. The Donald ain’t got no class. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2016, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1073 "2016-06-08T01:49:52Z")
I managed to watch a minute and a half of Trump’s speech before my bullshit limit was passed and I had to hit the Mute button. He looked alternately like a rat (shifty eyes when going to the teleprompter) and a perp under interrogation (when looking at the crowd). Never seen anybody blink so much. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2016, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1074 "2016-06-08T01:55:49Z")
“You’ve given me the honor to lead the Republican Party this fall,” Trump said. “I understand the responsibility of carrying the mantle, and I will never, ever let you down.” -D. Trump Yeah, he is spreading the bullshit just a few hours after he **did** let them down already. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2016, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1075 "2016-06-08T01:55:54Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > Never seen anybody blink so much. Every time he tells a lie, he blinks. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2016, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1076 "2016-06-08T01:57:25Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Every time he tells a lie, he blinks. No one could blink that fast. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2016, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1077 "2016-06-08T01:59:14Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > No one could blink that fast. 😃 You’d be amazed at what a lifetime of practice can accomplish. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2016, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1078 "2016-06-08T01:59:26Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Every time he tells a lie, he blinks. Huh. I thought it was every time he tells a lie, an angel gets his wings. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2016, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1079 "2016-06-08T02:56:17Z")
They ran out of angels. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2016, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1080 "2016-06-08T03:07:57Z")
Congresswoman Renee Ellmers is the only Congressperson so far whom Trump has specifically endorsed, including doing recorded robocalls for her. Because North Carolina has had to redraw their districts because a court ruled the old boundaries were drawn in order to minimize the black vote, Elmers was thrown into a district with another incumbent Congressman. She lost the primary today. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901.md?page=53) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901.md?page=55)