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‘I said, if you want to fire me, just fire me. And so he did’: my showdown with Donald Trump

What’s it like to be shown the door by the US president? A former national security adviser, an Apprentice contestant and more share their stories • Plus: The truth about my 11 days in the White House, by Anthony Scaramucci Gene Folkes , 62, based in Manhattan, was a contestant on season 10 of The Apprentice , which aired i n 2010 . A former air force recruiter until 1991, he retrained as an investment banker, then launched his own business before appearing on the reality show. He was fired by Trump in episode 5 . He now runs the technology consulting firm OshunX and hosts a podcast, Folkes Unfettered . I didn’t audition to be on The Apprentice. I received the call out of the blue: “Would you be interested in doing this show?” I didn’t know a lot about it. However, like any young business person, you look for people who you consider titans. There’s this mythology around Trump. He wa

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What’s it like to be shown the door by the US president? A former national security adviser, an Apprentice contestant and more share their stories • Plus: The truth about my 11 days in the White House, by Anthony Scaramucci Gene Folkes , 62, based in Manhattan, was a contestant on season 10 of The Apprentice , which aired i n 2010 . A former air force recruiter until 1991, he retrained as an investment banker, then launched his own business before appearing on the reality show. He was fired by Trump in episode 5 . He now runs the technology consulting firm OshunX and hosts a podcast, Folkes Unfettered . I didn’t audition to be on The Apprentice. I received the call out of the blue: “Would you be interested in doing this show?” I didn’t know a lot about it. However, like any young business person, you look for people who you consider titans. There’s this mythology around Trump. He wa

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According to The Guardian’s source item, ‘I said, if you want to fire me, just fire me. And so he did’: my showdown with Donald Trump, What’s it like to be shown the door by the US president? A former national security adviser, an Apprentice contestant and more share their stories • Plus: The truth about my 11 days in the White House, by Anthony Scaramucci Gene Folkes , 62, based in Manhattan, was a contestant on season 10 of The Apprentice , which aired i n 2010 . A former air force recruiter until 1991, he retrained as an investment banker, then launched his own business before appearing on the reality show. He was fired by Trump in episode 5 . He now runs the technology consulting firm OshunX and hosts a podcast, Folkes Unfettered . I didn’t audition to be on The Apprentice. I received the call out of the blue: “Would you be interested in doing this show?” I didn’t know a lot about it. However, like any young business person, you look for people who you consider titans. There’s this mythology around Trump. He wa

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The development sits in VINI’s Technology file for readers following technology, science, product policy, markets, infrastructure, and the public consequences of innovation. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The source item is dated 2026-09-12T11:00:32+00:00.

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Primary source: ‘I said, if you want to fire me, just fire me. And so he did’: my showdown with Donald Trump via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.

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