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Trump You: Promises, Lies and Corruption: My Battle With Donald Trump's Fake University

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Trump You: Cohen shares the ordeal he and other victims weathered over years, as well as how the TU experience parallels DT's presidency.

Trump You caught my attention first because I was teaching online for various universities when Trump started his ill-fated university. I remembered the buzz about the online school he was starting, but there's been little in any of the coverage from higher education publications that I might have expected. Cohen's book helps me understand why. This is a story of a university that never was--not even in terms of other for-profit schools that were big at the time like University of Phoenix.


Cohen starts the book mentioning how he felt embarrassed and ashamed that he fell for Trump's ploy; it's clear, though, that he now realizes that the entire country fell for it during the 2016 election. Even before Trump won the nomination, though, Cohen got to see behind the curtain. During a hot mic session during a deposition break, Cohen witnessed Trump saying things that showed his racist statements about Mexicans were not just mistakes or poor wording, for instance, and that he values no one but himself.


Part of what is amazing is that Cohen's story about his "enrollment" at Trump U, the subsequent lawsuit, and the aftermath is that mainstream media didn't jump on his story. He relates that even with a recording of the hot mic incident that major news outlets passed on the story. Similarly, he wound up independently publishing this book, as agents and publishers told him it wasn't a big enough story, that people were burned out on Trump, that it wouldn't sell.


Perhaps one of the best things about this book is the way Cohen draws parallels between Trump's behavior in relation to the lawsuit and Trump's behavior on the campaign trail, while in office, through both impeachments, and at the January 6 insurrection. In addition to an exhaustive summary of the case, the book includes a variety of notes linking to videos and articles that compliment the text and provide clear factual basis for his claims. The timeline at the end and the various photographs shared in the book are also a nice touch.


A solid read that sheds light on not only for-profit "education," the slowness of the class-action process, and on Donald Trump's behavioral patterns.


Reviewed by

Angelic Rodgers lives in the Little Rock area with her wife, two unruly cats, and two codependent dogs. She is currently working on her sixth novel. You can keep up with her at www.angelicrodgers.com

Introduction

About the author

The lead plaintiff in RICO Class Action lawsuit (Cohen v. Trump) settled in November 2016 for $25M. view profile

Published on October 19, 2021

Published by GateKeeper Press

70000 words

Genre: Political Science & Current Affairs

Reviewed by