Exclusive: "Just tell him the truth": An ex-aide's advice for talking to Trump
Axios
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The best way business leaders can receive help from President https://www.axios.com/politics-policy/donald-trump" target="_blank">Trump is to "just tell him the truth," Former White House deputy chief of staff https://www.axios.com/2025/09/24/top-white-house-aide-budowich-leaving-trump" target="_blank">Taylor Budowich told Axios co-founder Mike Allen on Friday.
Why it matters: Chief of staff https://www.axios.com/2025/12/16/susie-wiles-vanity-fair-interview-trump-chief-staff" target="_blank">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," Budowuch 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 https://www.uscc.gov/commission-members/taylor-budowich" target="_blank">oversaw the administration's communications strategy during https://www.axios.com/2025/06/22/iran-us-war-nuclear-weapons" target="_blank">Operation Midnight Hammer, Trump's https://www.axios.com/2026/04/20/trump-tariffs-us-business-refunds-customs-ace-portal" target="_blank">tariff rollouts and https://www.axios.com/2025/12/10/elon-musk-doge-government-efficiency-spending-impact" target="_blank">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 someone he has "relied on countless times" during Trump's second term.
The intrigue: Budowich now serves as president of Sovereign Advisors, a Washington, D.C., crisis communications firm that he founded last fall.
- The firm recently https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2026/04/14/the-next-white-house-staffer-to-exit-00870626" target="_blank">added former White House director of cabinet affairs Lea Bardon, another key confidant who maintains strong relations with cabinet secretaries and their staffs.
Go deeper: https://www.axios.com/2025/09/24/top-white-house-aide-budowich-leaving-trump" target="_blank">Scoop: Longtime Trump adviser Budowich departing White House