\n Posted on: October 27, 2024, 11:47h.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n
\n Last updated on: October 27, 2024, 11:47h.\n <\/p>\n
![\"Avatar](\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-4-1-50x50.png\")
<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nFormer President Donald Trump\u2019s 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.<\/span><\/p>\n The host of the \u201cJoe Rogan Experience\u201d pressed the former casino owner about how he knew who to appoint to crucial roles like cabinet members.<\/span><\/p>\n Well, I didn\u2019t,\u201d Trump conceded. \u201cI had no experience. I wasn\u2019t a Washington guy; I was a New York guy. So, now I\u2019m sitting there, and this place [the White House] is gorgeous but I don\u2019t know anybody.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Trump said he leaned on his closest friends and business colleagues for input.<\/span><\/p>\n I was always involved in politics but usually from the standpoint of a donor. I was a big donor<\/a>,\u201d Trump continued.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The Republican Party\u2019s presidential candidate for a third presidential election told Rogan that one of his closest friends \u2014 Las Vegas casino billionaire Phil Ruffin<\/a> \u2014 tried to warn him about tapping John Bolton as national security advisor.<\/span><\/p>\n Ruffin, the owner of Treasure Island and Circus Circus on the Las Vegas Strip, has been one of Trump\u2019s largest financial backers since 2016. Ruffin has hosted several Trump rallies at Treasure Island over the years and donated millions to the billionaire\u2019s presidential campaigns.<\/span><\/p>\n Trump told Rogan that Ruffin<\/a> 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.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Bolton occupied the key position for about a year and a half before Trump demanded his resignation given their \u201cmany\u201d disagreements. Bolton went on to become an outspoken critic of Trump who voiced his many concerns and displeasures about the president in his memoir, \u201cThe Room Where It Happened.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n A friend of mine called me up. He\u2019s a very smart guy<\/a>. His name is Phil Ruffin. He\u2019s a very rich guy from Las Vegas. He\u2019s a great card player. He\u2019s got that poker sense. Ruffin called up. He said don\u2019t pick him [Bolton]. He\u2019s a bad guy,\u201d Trump explained.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cI said, \u2018Oh man, I wish you would have told me this two weeks ago. I already hired him,\u201d Trump said to Rogan.<\/span><\/p>\n Ruffin has again given millions to Trump\u2019s 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.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Donald](\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/43JF6ZXHWRG4JF2THMYAXYRMRQ-858x572.jpg\")
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Ruffin Warning<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
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Week From Election Day<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n