Rubio: Trump's candidacy is a scam just like his university

By Ben Kamisar - 03-03-16 22:35 PM EST

During Thursday's Republican presidential debate, Marco Rubio warned that Donald Trump's candidacy is a scam along the lines of his controversial Trump University, which is facing a class-action lawsuit alleging fraud.

"He’s trying to do the the American voter what he did to the people that signed up for this course, he’s making promises he has no intention of keeping," Rubio said during Thursday's GOP presidential debate.

"And it won't just be for a few thousand dollars, it's our country that is at stake here."

Rubio added that he spoke to a "victim" of Trump's online business program on Wednesday, who told him that "they signed up for this course because they believe Donald Trump, this fantastic business man, would teach them all the tricks of the trade.”

"You know what they got in these courses, stuff they pulled off of Zillow, and he refused to give them their money back," he added.

Trump struck back by arguing that he did refund those who weren't happy with the program and that the majority have said they were satisfied. And then Trump turned Rubio's recent barbs back on him while noting his lead in polls of Florida.

"Let me tell you who the real con artist is — Sen. Marco Rubio, who was elected in Florida and has the worst voting record in the United States Senate. he doesn't go to vote, he's absent," he said.

"The people of Florida can't stand him, he couldn't be elected dogcatcher. ... You defrauded the people of Florida, Little Marco."