While Donald Trump publicly positioned himself as a staunch critic of Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro during his administration, privately he often praised the authoritarian leader’s strength, former White House adviser Olivia Troye revealed.

Troye shared that Trump’s admiration for Maduro as a “strong” leader was frequently expressed during internal meetings, leaving her and other staff baffled, especially as the Republican presidential nominee outwardly promoted “freedom for Venezuela” and imposed sweeping sanctions on Caracas in the wake of the disputed 2018 election.

Troye, a national security and counterterrorism adviser for then-Vice President Mike Pence, recounted that Trump’s praise for authoritarian figures, particularly “strong men” like Maduro, struck her as deeply incongruent with his public stance.

“I was confused in those meetings,” she admitted, as Trump’s words seemed starkly at odds with his anti-Maduro rhetoric, creating a sense of internal division within the White House on Venezuela policy.

This dissonance in Trump’s approach, Troye reflected, contributed to her growing disillusionment with his leadership.

She found herself disheartened by what she perceived as political posturing, particularly on immigration.

Coming from a Mexican-American family and raised in El Paso, Texas, Troye felt firsthand the impact of Trump’s hardline immigration stance on her own community.

She vividly recalls the 2019 El Paso Walmart shooting, where 23 people died in a hate-fuelled attack targeting the Hispanic community, echoing anti-immigrant language similar to Trump’s.

When Trump addressed this tragedy within White House meetings, Troye recalled feeling torn, knowing her Mexican-born aunt had been present during the attack.

This event, combined with Trump’s controversial response to the COVID-19 pandemic, contributed to her decision to leave the administration in August 2020.

By September, Troye openly opposed Trump, joining Republican Voters Against Trump and endorsing Joe Biden, urging Republicans disillusioned with the party to support Biden.

Now a part of Republicans for Harris, Troye continues her advocacy for a responsible administration.

Speaking at the Democratic National Convention in August, she urged Republicans to support Kamala Harris, calling for leadership that represents all Americans.

Troye’s sentiments echo those of other ex-Trump staffers, including former Chief of Staff John Kelly, who recently warned against a second Trump term, describing him as “fascist” in mindset and revealing Trump’s praise of Adolf Hitler’s deeds during his time in office.

Similarly, former Trump aide John Bolton recalled in his 2020 book how, to the bewilderment of his own cabinet, the outlandish mogul-turned-president praised the Venezuelan leftist tyrant as “smart” and “tough.”

"The president vacillated and wobbled, exacerbating internal administration disagreements rather than solving them, and repeatedly impeding our efforts to carry out a policy,” Bolton said.

During his tenure, Trump notoriously lauded several authoritarian leaders such as Russian President Vladimir Putin, North Korea's Kim Jong Un and Hungary’s Viktor Orban.

At a rally in South Bronx last May, he said these leaders were “at the top of their game, whether you like it or not.”