--- title: Ted Cruz Makes Trump University 'Certificate of Deception' description: Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz created a Trump University "certificate of deception" on Thursday canonical: https://time.com/4247246/ted-cruz-donald-trump-certificate-of-deception/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-03T23:30:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:46:25.950Z article:section: Politics og:title: Ted Cruz Made a Trump University 'Certificate of Deception' og:description: You can customize your own og:url: https://time.com/4247246/ted-cruz-donald-trump-certificate-of-deception/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcbbafade52281b17/69888035ab6d77d6356a8b51/trump-cruz-debate.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: trump-cruz-debate og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ted Cruz Made a Trump University 'Certificate of Deception' twitter:description: You can customize your own twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcbbafade52281b17/69888035ab6d77d6356a8b51/trump-cruz-debate.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ted Cruz Is Giving Out a Trump University 'Certificate of Deception' > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=e62a5f4c-eb0d-4a15-a133-9d4d1d261606&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1)  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Mar 3, 2016 11:30 PM UTC  Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) at the Republican presidential primary candidate debate sponsored by CNN and Telemundo at the University of Houston in Houston, TX, on Feb. 25. Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) at the Republican presidential primary candidate debate sponsored by CNN and Telemundo at the University of Houston in Houston, TX, on Feb. 25. Bob Levey—Telemundo/ Getty  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Mar 3, 2016 11:30 PM UTC Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz created a [Trump University “certificate of deception”](https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/705503812098732032) on Thursday, allowing opponents of the GOP frontrunner to personalize their own diploma from the controversial venture. “Donald Trump has a long history of defrauding others to make himself richer,” Cruz’s [campaign site reads](https://www.tedcruz.org/l/trump-university/?utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fsource=t.co&utm%5Fcampaign=20160303%5Ftc-lb-organic%5Ftwitter&utm%5Fcontent=tc). “We must not let this deception stand. Sign the petition to stand against Trump’s money-grab and get your personal diploma from ‘Trump University.'” The slogan above the Trump University stamp depicted on Cruz’s diploma reads “indebted” and “unaccredited.” The move is the latest example of an opponent attacking Trump for his real-estate investment school that closed in 2010\. Trump has [faced several lawsuits](http://time.com/4101290/what-the-legal-battle-over-trump-university-reveals-about-its-founder/) accusing him of defrauding students, and a [conservative group released ads last week](http://time.com/4239593/donald-trump-university-ads/) accusing the businessman of taking advantage of the university’s customers. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has also attacked Trump on the issue, calling the school a “fake university.” Trump has fought back against the criticism, saying he [won most of the Trump University lawsuits](http://time.com/4239593/donald-trump-university-ads/). [https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/705503812098732032](https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/705503812098732032) The remaining Republican presidential candidates, except retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, will [face off in a debate Thursday night](http://time.com/4245889/republican-debate-detroit-fox-news-watch/). The debate is the first since Trump dominated the Super Tuesday voting contests, a victory that has [worried some Cruz supporters.](http://time.com/4244302/ted-cruz-super-tuesday-texas-donald-trump/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4247246/ted-cruz-donald-trump-certificate-of-deception/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4247246/ted-cruz-donald-trump-certificate-of-deception/"},"headline":"Ted Cruz Is Giving Out a Trump University 'Certificate of Deception'","datePublished":"2016-03-03T23:30:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:46:25.950Z","description":"\"Donald Trump has a long history of defrauding others to make himself richer\"","url":"https://time.com/4247246/ted-cruz-donald-trump-certificate-of-deception/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcbbafade52281b17/69888035ab6d77d6356a8b51/trump-cruz-debate.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcbbafade52281b17/69888035ab6d77d6356a8b51/trump-cruz-debate.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"trump-cruz-debate","caption":"TELEMUNDO EVENTS -- Pictured: (l-r) Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Sen. 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