Former President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, should attend the MAGA movement gathering next week at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, The Atlantic writes. The magazine sees his arrival as the result of an expensive lobbying campaign, a shift in the movement, and a change in Washington’s attitude toward him.
As journalist Isaac Stanley-Becker said, prominent figures of the MAGA movement will gather in the days following the congressional elections to discuss the 2028 presidential election. Speakers include a member of the U.S. cabinet, the head of the White House Domestic Policy Council, and several members of Congress.
The Atlantic learned about Dodik’s travel plans from several sources familiar with them, who spoke on condition of anonymity and warned that details could change at the last minute. Dodik’s cabinet did not respond to the magazine’s inquiry.
The Atlantic described Dodik as a pro-Russian autocrat who boasted about spying on Americans, and who recently called Russian President Vladimir Putin “one of the most peaceful leaders of our time.” It also notes that his push for secession threatens the renewed outbreak of a bloody conflict in the Balkans.
Trump’s Campaign Advisors in Republika Srpska
The Government of Republika Srpska hired two of Trump’s key political advisors, James Blair and Chris LaCivita, as consultants and brought them to Republika Srpska ahead of the elections in BiH earlier this month. They later donated their fees to a fund for Trump’s presidential library, after the arraignment became public and Trump criticized them on Truth Social.
When his party achieved a convincing result, Dodik credited both Trump and Putin.
“Had it not been for Donald Trump’s magnificent victory, we would probably be political corpses today,” Dodik told supporters.
From Sanctions to Lifting
The Biden administration imposed sanctions on Dodik in 2022. The U.S. Department of the Treasury charged him at the time with corruption, bribery, and threats to the stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the U.S. government, Dodik tried to undermine the Dayton Peace Agreement, created parallel institutions in Republika Srpska, and belittled other ethnic and religious groups, primarily Bosniaks. The sanctions were later expanded to his numerous family members, associates, and companies.
The Atlantic recalled that Dodik was legally convicted last year for failing to meet the High Representative’s decisions, and as a result, he lost the position of the President of Republika Srpska and received a six-year ban from holding public office. He rejects these decisions as politically motivated and unconstitutional, and he continues to almost entirely control the institutions of Republika Srpska.
Since Trump returned to the White House last year, the government in Republika Srpska spent millions of dollars on lobbyists to fix Dodik’s image among people around Trump. The strategy, the magazine wrote, was to present him as a victim of legal persecution, similar to Trump, and a protector of Christian values. Trump’s former personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (whom Trump pardoned last year), and a firm employing Katie Wiles, the daughter of White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, worked for Dodik and his associates.
The Trump administration lifted the sanctions in October 2025. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) did not state a reason, but a few days earlier, the State Department welcomed conciliatory steps by the National Assembly of Republika Srpska as a result of Washington’s efforts to ease the crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
State Department Officials, The Atlantic states, requested a resignation of the High Representative, Christian Schmidt, who was in open conflict with Dodik. Schmidt stepped down in May, 2026, telling a German newspaper that he was under “immense and unexpected pressure from the U.S.”
Diplomats and experts, according to the magazine, are closely following the Trump administration’s concessions to Dodik due to his open separatist goal and Putin’s support. The magazine also recalls that both Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina are candidates for European Union membership.
Gala Gathering Ahead of 2028
The gathering at Mar-a-Lago is organized as part of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), titled the CPAC Circle Retreat and Gala, and it is advertised as the “gathering of visionaries.” The website of the event states that as congressional results come in, attendees will discuss what they mean for the path toward 2028.
Among the announced speakers are the U.S. Secretary of Labor, Senators Mike Lee and Rick Scott, and Eduardo Bolsonaro—the brother of Flávio Bolsonaro, the unsuccessful candidate for president of Brazil who recently came to the U.S. to evade potential prosecution over money laundering and tax evasion charges.
Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union and CPAC host, declined to comment on Dodik’s attendance. He said the gathering would feature an interesting group of donors and VIP guests, but would not discuss who else would be there besides the speakers. He added that the focus will be on America’s future ahead of 2028.
It remains unclear whether Trump will be at Mar-a-Lago during Dodik’s visit. The White House did not respond to the magazine’s inquiry. Earlier this year, during a visit to Washington, Dodik was photographed with Defense Department Secretary Pete Hegseth and then-White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Current and former U.S. officials told The Atlantic that Dodik might feel pressure to try to achieve the independence of Republika Srpska as soon as possible, because Trump would likely be more favorable to him than a potential Democratic successor after 2028. Regardless of the outcome of Tuesday’s elections, the magazine concludes, Trump will have two more years to give Dodik what he wants.
