Former President Donald Trump’s highly-watched three-hour interview with podcaster Joe Rogan released on Friday included a lengthy discussion about how he went about appointing his key staff and administration officials while being a newcomer to politics.
The host of the “Joe Rogan Experience” pressed the former casino owner about how he knew who to appoint to crucial roles like cabinet members.
Well, I didn’t,” Trump conceded. “I had no experience. I wasn’t a Washington guy; I was a New York guy. So, now I’m sitting there, and this place [the White House] is gorgeous but I don’t know anybody.”
Trump said he leaned on his closest friends and business colleagues for input.
I was always involved in politics but usually from the standpoint of a donor. I was a big donor,” Trump continued.
The Republican Party’s presidential candidate for a third presidential election told Rogan that one of his closest friends — Las Vegas casino billionaire Phil Ruffin — tried to warn him about tapping John Bolton as national security advisor.
Ruffin Warning
Ruffin, the owner of Treasure Island and Circus Circus on the Las Vegas Strip, has been one of Trump’s largest financial backers since 2016. Ruffin has hosted several Trump rallies at Treasure Island over the years and donated millions to the billionaire’s presidential campaigns.
Trump told Rogan that Ruffin tried to prevent him from naming Bolton as national security advisor, an executive office of the president based in the West Wing. Trump appointed Bolton to the capacity in April 2018 to succeed Mike Flynn after he stepped down less than a month into the role after he was probed over conversations he had with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the U.S.
Bolton occupied the key position for about a year and a half before Trump demanded his resignation given their “many” disagreements. Bolton went on to become an outspoken critic of Trump who voiced his many concerns and displeasures about the president in his memoir, “The Room Where It Happened.”
A friend of mine called me up. He’s a very smart guy. His name is Phil Ruffin. He’s a very rich guy from Las Vegas. He’s a great card player. He’s got that poker sense. Ruffin called up. He said don’t pick him [Bolton]. He’s a bad guy,” Trump explained.
“I said, ‘Oh man, I wish you would have told me this two weeks ago. I already hired him,” Trump said to Rogan.
Ruffin has again given millions to Trump’s cause. According to Federal Election Commission records, Ruffin has donated over $2.8 million to Trump super PACs and another $1 million to pro-GOP congressional candidates.
Week From Election Day
With only eight days remaining until the Nov. 5 Election Day, betting markets on the 2024 presidential election outcome suggest Trump is the front-runner.
On Polymarket, more than $2.3 billion in shares of Trump and Kamala Harris victories have been traded on the peer-to-peer wagering platform. Trump’s stock remains in the lead at implied winning odds of 65% to Harris at 35%.
Smarkets, another betting exchange, has Trump’s stock at implied odds of 59.5% to Harris at 40%. At leading sportsbook William Hill in the U.K., Trump is the betting favorite at 4/7 (-175) for implied odds of 64%.
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