Four Weeks Before the Midterms, the Two Men Running Trump's Super PAC Ads Are Reported to Have Been Paid "Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars Each" to Advise a Pro-Russian Government in Bosnia — Trump Says "If There's a Conflict, I Will Terminate Them, Immediately!" and Thom Tillis Calls It "a Horrible Look"
On Oct. 6, 2026, the New York Times reported that Chris LaCivita, co-manager of Trump's 2024 campaign, and James Blair, the White House deputy chief of staff on leave to run Trump's political operation, spent several days in Republika Srpska — the Serb-run, Russia-aligned entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina — ahead of its Oct. 4 elections. According to the Times, each was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars through a Washington law firm hired by the Republika Srpska government to advise on voting issues. Both men oversee midterm advertising for the pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc., and Republican operatives were reported to be furious that they took the work at the height of the midterm cycle. On Oct. 7, Trump posted on Truth Social that the two were "outside consultants" free to work for others, but that if there was a conflict he would fire them. The same day, Sen. Thom Tillis, co-chair of the Senate NATO Observer Group, called Republika Srpska "a destabilizing force" and said the two should end the relationship "very, very quickly." Republika Srpska is dominated by Milorad Dodik's SNSD party; a bipartisan group of senators including Tillis had earlier pressed the administration to reimpose sanctions on Dodik after it lifted them.
“[On Truth Social, after the New York Times report:] Chris LaCivita and James Blair are outside consultants. [They] do not work for me, other than as outside consultants. … They are allowed to do work for others, just like all consultants in Washington, D.C. … [I]f there's a conflict, I will terminate them, immediately!”