Donald Trump has thrown two of his top political consultants under the bus after they were busted working for a pro-Putin Balkan regime just weeks before Republicans face crucial midterm elections.
Chris LaCivita and James Blair—two of the most influential figures in Trump’s political operation—traveled to Republika Srpska, a Serbian entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina, while Republicans at home are fighting to hold onto Congress.
The New York Times reported Wednesday that the pair were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars each through a DC-based law firm retained by Republika Srpska’s government.
Their job, according to two people familiar with the engagement, was to provide advice on voting issues relating to the tiny Balkan entity, which has a population of 1.2 million people.
But the trip has sparked fury inside MAGA world, with operatives questioning why two of Trump’s senior political advisers were working overseas at such a critical moment—and how much they were being paid.
Trump also weighed in on Wednesday, calling out the pair in a Truth Social post and threatening to “terminate them, immediately!” if they were found to have had a conflict of interest.
Asked in the Oval Office later if he had spoken to the pair over any potential conflicts, Trump replied, “They don’t have a conflict because they are independent people” who only worked for him as outside consultants.
“I assume they have a lot of clients,” he added, noting he would ask to see their client list.
“I don’t know who their clients are. If I thought they had a conflict here, I would terminate, but all they are is consultants. They don’t work in the White House.”
The backlash within the GOP and MAGA world has also been fierce. Republicans are just weeks away from the midterms, with Democrats aggressively targeting Trump’s agenda and warning voters that the party is on the brink of losing its grip on Congress.
One Republican operative told the Daily Beast the trip was “clearly a bad look” given the timing.
Another described the trip to Politico as “legitimately shocking,” complaining that Republicans were “fighting for our lives” while LaCivita and Blair were overseas “taking hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
Steve Bannon was even less forgiving, calling the pair “grifters” as he called for a forensic audit to see where the money went.
“Newsom just said ‘the Democrats need to focus on ending Trump’s presidency in 28 days’ while these two grifters are out of the country—and we wonder why the MAGA base may have an enthusiasm gap,” he told Politico.
“If this doesn’t show how checked out Republicans are, not sure what does,” added another operative said.
Blair served as deputy White House chief of staff until April and has been at the center of Trump’s political operations.
He is now serving as the chief of the president’s MAGA Inc. super PAC, but unlike many in the GOP, he has taken a more optimistic view of the looming election.
“I don’t think there will be a blue wave at all,” he said last month in an interview with The Free Press.
LaCivita, meanwhile, helped run Trump’s 2024 campaign alongside Susie Wiles, now the president’s chief of staff.
He previously sued the Daily Beast over a 2024 report about the millions that flowed into his company, Advancing Strategies LLC, while he was managing Trump’s campaign, but abandoned the lawsuit in January, avoiding having to open up his bank accounts and tax returns.
LaCivita had demanded a retraction, an apology, and “triple damages,” and got none of those.
The engagement is the latest example of Trump advisers from far-right politicians abroad who have sought favor from the U.S. president.
But while political consultants and lobbyists with ties to U.S. presidents often offer their services to foreign campaigns, the timing and location raised eyebrows.
Republika Srpska’s ruling nationalist party has aligned itself closely with Vladimir Putin’s Russia while simultaneously spending heavily to cultivate Trump and his allies.
Its leader, Milorad Dodik, thanked Putin for his support after this latest election victory and credited Trump’s 2024 win with creating a more favorable political climate.
Trump allies have meanwhile embraced the party’s Christian conservatism and opposition to EU membership.
“Not a good look,” one insider told Politico. “I think Chris is doing what Chris has always done—and my guess is after 2 years on the campaign and 2 more in the WH James wanted a taste of $… and honestly I think it may piss DJT off.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to LaCivita and Blair for comment.
