So much of Donald Trump’s pre-election Twitter campaigning was somewhere between boastfulness that he presented an image of perfection that was, if we’re being honest, unsustainable.
Everything he did was flawless to the point of exaggeration, while anyone who rubbed him up the wrong way was a ‘loser’.
It wasn’t just restricted to Twitter, though. Back in September, Trump famously said “If I’m President we’ll win so much you’ll get bored with winning”.
So, it would be awkward if – barely a week after winning the US Presidential election – Trump settled a lawsuit which he said would be an “easy win” for him.
Luckily nothing like that happened…wait, what? That exact thing happened? A $25m settlement over Trump University, which the New York Attorney General has called ‘phony’ and ‘fraudulent’?
Surely he didn’t really call it an easy win as recently as March? That would be embarrassing.
According to the BBC, Trump was being sued by ex-students who had each paid $35,000 (£28,000) – and the settlement suggests it was not the ‘easy win’ it had appeared less than nine months ago.
Indeed, New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman called the move a ‘stunning reversal’ on Trump’s part, saying in a statement:
‘In 2013, my office sued Donald Trump for swindling thousands of innocent Americans out of millions of dollars through a scheme known as Trump University.
‘Donald Trump fought us every step of the way, filing baseless charges and fruitless appeals and refusing to settle for even modest amounts of compensation for the victims of his phony university.
‘Today, that all changes. Today’s $25 million settlement agreement is a stunning reversal by Donald Trump and a major victory for the over 6,000 victims of his fraudulent university.’
And more than a few people are pointing out not only the about-turn from the President-elect, but also the fact that something of this scale is unprecedented from any incoming leader of the United States.
Trump will be the first president in history who settled a case for tens of millions in which ppl accused him of defrauding them. #TrumpU
— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) November 18, 2016
Trump promised a big win in the Trump U. fraud trial, but ended up payin' 25 million to settle. If that's "winning", we're in big trouble.
— Tea Pain (@TeaPainUSA) November 19, 2016
https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/799736857755955202
Trump’s lawyer, Daniel Petrocelli, said “usually settlements are unhappy all around but this is a good one all around”.
“President-elect Trump, he’s a fighter…and that’s why so many people have been drawn to him and so manty people voted hm into office
“He had very strong feelings about this case but was willing to put his personal feelings to one side and focus on the issues that are facing the country.”
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