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
