In an extraordinary display of candidness, the mercurial titan of real estate and former commander-in-chief, Donald Trump, settled into an extensive three-hour dialogue with none other than Joe Rogan, the avant-garde maestro of podcasting. The conversation unfurled on a recent Friday, captivating audiences as the duo delved into the intricacies of political machinations, laying bare the inner workings of staffing the most powerful office on Earth.
Caught in the crosshairs of scrutiny, Trump, a juggernaut in business turned political disruptor, admitted he approached the daunting task of appointing key staff and administration officials armed with nothing but intuition, as he stood as a neophyte in the serpentine realm of Washington politics.
_”Well, I didn’t,”_ Trump confessed to Rogan with startling honesty. _”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.”_
Without a compass to navigate the treacherous waters of political appointments, Trump relied on a phalanx of confidantes and business allies to guide his hand. A self-proclaimed political player from the sidelines, he had channeled his influence through generous donations rather than direct involvement—until destiny called him to the highest seat of power.
_”I was always involved in politics but usually from the standpoint of a donor. I was a big donor,”_ Trump shared with the attentive Rogan.
A revelation unfolded as Trump recounted the counsel of Phil Ruffin, a gladiator of the Las Vegas casino empire and one of the moguls of Trump’s financial armory. Ruffin, the mastermind behind the renowned Treasure Island and Circus Circus, not only fortified Trump’s electoral ambitions with staggering financial support but also donned the armor of a sage as political tides surged.
It was Ruffin’s foresight that urged a word of caution against the appointment of John Bolton, the controversial figure poised to grasp the reins as national security advisor. Bolton, stepping into shoes briefly warmed by Mike Flynn, would find his tenure in the crucible of the West Wing truncated by discordant relations with Trump—a relationship that would later unspool in the pages of Bolton’s scathing 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 recollected, revealing a moment of retrospective wish for earlier insight.
With the electoral clock ticking down to a mere eight days before the turning point of Nov. 5, the betting markets throbbed with anticipation. Trump’s shadow loomed large as the front-runner, with Polymarket trading over $2.3 billion in wagers on the outcomes for both Trump and Kamala Harris. The scales tipped in Trump’s favor across the board—from the peer-to-peer exchanges to the storied bookmakers of William Hill—a ballad of odds and speculation that heralded the drama of a nation’s choice.
