Business leaders seeking favors from President Trump should stop rehearsing their pitch and simply level with him, according to Taylor Budowich, a former White House deputy chief of staff who spent six years in Trump's inner circle.
Budowich shared the blunt advice Friday at an Axios reception, offering a rare window into how decision-making actually functions behind the Oval Office doors. When asked by a business executive how to frame a request to the president, Budowich's answer was direct: "Just tell him the truth. What is your truth?"
The real problem, he explained, stems from how intimidated visitors become in the president's presence. They arrive with warnings about impending disasters, only to backpedal the moment they sit down across from Trump. "There was a cataclysmic event about to happen, and now we're here," Budowich said, mimicking the sudden shift. "Everything's great, sir."
Budowich left the White House in September after orchestrating communications strategy during some of the administration's most significant policy pushes, including the controversial tariff rollouts and the government efficiency cuts overseen by DOGE. He also played a central role in Trump's political comeback, working with MAGA-aligned super PACs before joining the 2024 campaign.
His departure marked the beginning of a new chapter as founder and president of Sovereign Advisors, a Washington crisis communications firm launched last fall. The firm recently recruited Lea Bardon, the former White House director of cabinet affairs, signaling that Budowich's operation is positioning itself as a bridge between the private sector and Trump's government.
Vice President JD Vance has publicly credited Budowich with crucial support during the second term, describing him as someone he has "relied on countless times." That relationship underscores Budowich's continued influence even after leaving government.
The broader message from Budowich cuts against the conventional Washington playbook. Rather than elaborate messaging strategies or carefully calibrated positioning, success with Trump apparently hinges on candor. For executives and operatives accustomed to diplomatic hedging, that approach represents a fundamental shift in how they should approach the most powerful office in the country.
Author James Rodriguez: "It's refreshingly cynical advice from someone who actually knows: drop the corporate speak and tell Trump what's really happening, because he'll see through the act anyway."
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