Pages from Trump University playbooks show aggressive sales techniques

Donald Trump.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Documents serving as evidence in a class-action lawsuit against Trump University show instructors were told how to bring in customers, convince them to spend more money on additional classes, and counter objections they might have.

Close to 400 pages out of Trump University playbooks were ordered released last week by U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, after a request by The Washington Post. The now-defunct real estate school was created by presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, and his attorneys objected to the move, saying the documents contain trade secrets. The pages reveal that instructors were given detailed directives on everything from how to run an event to how to dress, CNN reports. Students filled out profiles, which included listing their assets, and instructors were told to sort through those profiles and separate those with liquid assets over $35,000 from those with less than $2,000.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.