Daniel Wolfram
With just weeks until election day, Chris LaCivita and James Blair earned hundreds of thousands advising a Putin-aligned regime, leaving Trump furious and considering firings.
As the polls get worse for the Republican Party, the Trump administration expects all hands on deck to protect majorities in Congress in either house.
That is evident as Trump is on a campaign-trail frenzy, traveling to battleground states.
Meanwhile, two of Trump’s closest midterm advisers were moonlighting in the Balkans, making a profit trying to help a Putin-aligned government.
Trump advisers in the Balkans instead of battleground states
A new report from The New York Times alleges that James Blair and Chris LaCivita, two political advisers who are tasked with helping the GOP and Trump during the midterms, spent last week in Bosnia and Herzegovina helping the local right-wing government in Republika Srpska ahead of elections there.
As reported on Dagens.com, Republika Srpska is a self-governing territory where elections were held on Sunday.
Here, the “Bosnian Trump,” Milorad Dodik, claimed victory even though he was barred from office. He also personally thanked Trump and Putin in his “victory” speech.
The two advisers were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars each in order to provide Republika Srpska’s government with advice on various “voting issues.”
Analyst Adnan Ćerimagić from a Berlin-based think tank says that the connection to the Trump administration has provided Dodik with “legitimacy” during his campaign.
Trump is reportedly furious over distraction
According to Politico, Trump is very angry at the two consultants. He sees the ordeal as a bad look since Republicans are just 26 days from a crucial election.
“They are in full-on panic mode,” a source close to the President told Politico. “They have been calling everyone urging people to come out and defend them on this.”
Another source echoed the same sentiment and outlook for the two consultants who made a fortune advising a Russia-friendly regime’s reelection effort: “The knives are now fully out for these two.”
Trump responds on Truth Social
CNN reports that Trump did not know about LaCivita and Blair going overseas in the middle of the midterm campaign.
Trump then spoke to various allies about the situation and asked for advice on how best to handle it. One of the options on the table is firing the two consultants.
Trump also made a rare concession in a lengthy Truth Social post that he may fire them over this.
“Chris LaCivita and James Blair are outside consultants. They do not work for me, other than as outside consultants […] I do not have any idea who else they work for but will, on reflection, ask them and, if there’s a conflict, I will terminate them, immediately!”
