Exclusive: "Just tell him the truth": An ex-aide's advice for talking to Trump
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Taylor Budowich, former White House deputy chief of staff for President Trump. Photo: Denny Henry for Axios Live
The best way business leaders can receive help from President Trump is to "just tell him the truth," former White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich told Axios co-founder Mike Allen on Friday.
Why it matters: Chief of staff Susie Wiles' former aide has spent half a decade in Trump's inner circle, giving Budowich a close view of decision-making inside the Oval Office.
What they're saying: "One of them asked me, 'What should I tell him? How should I position this issue?'" Budowich told Allen at Axios' 2026 White House Correspondents' Dinner reception.
- "I said, 'Just tell him the truth.' What is your truth?"
- Budowich said business leaders often get intimidated in the Oval Office and tell Trump everything's fine when it isn't.
- "You were just saying, like there was a cataclysmic event about to happen, and now we're here," Budowich says. Now it's, "Everything's great, sir."
Catch up quick: Budowich left the White House for the private sector in September after helping lead the communications, Cabinet affairs and speechwriting offices, Axios' Alex Isenstadt exclusively reported.
- At the time, Budowich oversaw the administration's communications strategy during Operation Midnight Hammer, Trump's tariff rollouts and DOGE-related cuts.
- He also helped engineer Trump's return to Washington, working for MAGA-affiliated super PACs before joining the 2024 campaign.
- Budowich is close to Vice President JD Vance, who said Budowich is someone he has "relied on countless times" during Trump's second term.
The intrigue: Budowich now serves as president of The Sovereign Advisors, a Washington, D.C., crisis communications firm that he founded last fall.
- The firm recently added former White House director of Cabinet affairs Lea Bardon, another key confidant who maintains strong relations with Cabinet secretaries and their staffs.
Zoom in: Budowich also said Friday that Trump's Cabinet under Wiles encourages dissension.
- "I think her real superpower is her humility — but self-confidence — in allowing people to make their case, whether she agrees with it or not, and be heard. And allowing any issue to be properly vetted, understood before the president's making a decision," he said.
- He said that difference is what sets her apart from previous chiefs of staff that were booted.
- "This is what's been different, is it's been a team that has a seat at the table. They feel heard, and they understand why decisions are made."
- "Whether you agree with them in a moment or not, it's irrelevant, because there's only one person that was elected to make them."
Go deeper: Scoop: Longtime Trump adviser Budowich departing White House
