As Donald Trump tries to keep Republicans from losing in the United States’ mid-term elections, two of his closest political operatives traveled to Republika Srpska to advise the government ahead of the elections. For that engagement, individuals familiar with the matter say they received several thousand dollars each, the New York Times reports.
As Donald Trump toured the United States last week and tried to help Republican candidates maintain control of Congress, two men who play important roles in his political movement were thousands of kilometers away, in Republika Srpska.
James Blair and Chris LaCivita, among Trump’s closest political associates, traveled to this Bosnian and Herzegovinian entity to advise the authorities ahead of Sunday’s elections.
Their engagement is particularly interesting because of the political profile of the government they were assisting.
Republika Srpska has been maintaining a close relationship with Moscow for years; its leader, Milorad Dodik, is one of the closest allies of the Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Balkans, while the authorities of this entity often challenge decisions made by the state institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina and parts of the international order established by the Dayton Peace Agreement.
At the same time, Dodik and his allies have made significant efforts in recent years to build ties with Trump and people from his political circle.
Blair and LaCivita represent the newest and most high-profile example of that connection.
Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars for Two Trump Operatives
According to two people familiar with their engagement, Blair and LaCivita each received several hundred thousand dollars for advisory work related to the elections in Republika Srpska.
According to these claims, the money was paid to them through a Washington-based law firm hired by the Government of Republika Srpska. Persons familiar with the work emphasized that the Government of Republika Srpska was a formal client, not the SNSD- a political party that has dominated power in that entity for decades.
In the political reality of Republika Srpska, however, the line between the government and party structure led by Dodik is often a subject of political debate. Four people familiar with the trip confirmed that Blair and LaCivita stayed in Republika Srpska. They wished to remain anonymous as they are not authorized to speak publicly about their involvement.
The Government of Republika Srpska did not answer questions regarding the deal or the money that was paid.
Trump’s Advisors Simultaneously Lead US Political Operation
The time of their engagement is particularly interesting. Blair is not only a former associate. He was a political director of Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, and later became the deputy chief of staff at the White House.
In the spring, he left the White House to take charge of MAGA Inc., a super PAC that supports Trump and holds massive financial resources. At the end of August, MAGA Inc. had over 415 million dollars in its account. The organization is expected to spend a large amount of that money on supporting Republican candidates in the fight for Congress.
LaCivita is also one of the people who are at the very top of Trump’s political machinery.
He was the co-manager of Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and is now a senior advisor to MAGA Inc. In other words, while the two of them are part of the political team in America trying to help Trump and Republicans hold power, they were simultaneously engaged in the Balkans.
Their trip to Republika Srpska ended on Monday, the day after the election.
Blair and LaCivita are not the only people from Trump’s political circle who were deployed for the interests of Republika Srpska in recent months. According to data delivered to the US Department of Justice, the Government of Republika Srpska has spent over four million dollars since the beginning of last year on lobbyists, political operatives and advisors related to Trump and his Republican allies.
That lobbying campaign achieved one of the biggest results late last year, when the Trump administration lifted sanctions against Milorad Dodik, his family members and his associates. Sanctions against Dodik were first introduced in the final days of Barack Obama’s administration.
They remained in effect during Trump’s first term, while Joe Biden’s administration expanded them further.
Washington justified the sanctions by citing Dodik’s moves, which, according to American assessment, undermined the Dayton Peace Agreement and the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Their removal represented a significant political gain for Dodik.
Dodik as the “Balkan Trump”
Dodik’s American allies have been trying in recent years to build a narrative according to which he is a sort of Balkan version of Donald Trump. He is presented as a politician clashing with the international institutions, rejecting pressure from the political establishment, and claiming he is the victim of political persecution.
Such a message is especially strong in Republika Srpska, where Trump has built significant popularity in recent years. In the meantime, Dodik, however, has become one of the most important political figures in the Balkans who maintains open and close relations with Vladimir Putin.
His meetings with the Russian president, his support for Moscow, and his opposition to sanctions against Russia after the start of the invasion of Ukraine have solidified his reputation as one of Putin’s closest political partners in Europe.
At the same time, Dodik’s government is trying to keep the door open to Washington. It was precisely Trump’s return to the White House that provided a new opportunity for such a policy.
From International Pressure to American Support
For years, Donald has been under pressure from the international community. He was once considered a moderate politician who could help calm inter-ethnic tensions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Over time, however, he increasingly embraced Serb nationalism and a policy of rapprochement with Moscow.
Last year, the judiciary of Bosnia and Herzegovina convicted him for disobeying the decisions of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the international official responsible for overseeing the civilian implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement.
The verdict led to his removal from the position of President of Republika Srpska and a ban on holding public office. However, political pressure failed to break Dodik’s political network.
On the contrary, with the support of Trump’s allies and after the lifting of US sanctions, Dodik managed to maintain a strong position.
“This not only secured his legitimacy among his party’s voters, but also strengthened him politically relative to his critics, both domestically and internationally,” said Adnan Ćerimagić, an analyst at the European Stability Initiative, a Berlin-based think tank.
Trump Jr. in Republika Srpska, Cvijanović at the White House
The links between Dodik’s political circle and Trump’s family became especially visible this year. Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of the US President, visited Republika Srpska in April.
He arrived in Republika Srpska as a guest of Dodik’s son, and his visit was seen in the political circles of that entity as a sign of support. A couple of months later, Željka Cvijanović, a member of the SNSD and the Serb member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, met with Susie Wiles at the White House, President Trump’s Chief of Staff.
According to two people familiar with its organization, Alex Garcia arranged the meeting. Garcia has previously, under James Blair’s leadership, worked on Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.
In February, his campaign registered to represent the interests of Republika Srpska in Washington. According to the agreement delivered to the US Department of Justice, it received $35, 000 per month for this work.
According to two people familiar with his activities, Garcia was also in the region during the elections in Republika Srpska.
His spokesperson refused to comment on those claims.
“In Serbia and Republika Srpska, They Love Trump”
Among Americans who are financially engaged in promoting the interests of Republika Srpska is also Rod Blagojevich, the former Governor of Illinois whose family is of Serb origin. According to lobbying report data, his company has received $1,325 million from Republika Srpska since March of last year.
Blagojevich is not hiding how strong the political value of Trump’s name is in Republika Srpska. “In Serbia and Republika Srpska, they love Trump,” he said.
He added that advocating for Trump in Republika Srpska is a “huge political plus.”
Trump’s political philosophy and campaign style also surfaced in the election narrative in Republika Srpska. Ahead of elections, SNSD and his allies warned that the introduction of electronic voting devices could jeopardize the election process.
Such rhetoric reminds of the claims Trump and his allies have been making for years in the US, especially after the 2020 presidential elections. At one time, Trump, without proof, claimed that election systems and electronic devices facilitated fraud that cost him victory.
At the elections in Republika Srpska on Sunday, certain delays and technical issues were indeed recorded. However, the SNSD achieved a convincing victory. In his victory speech, according to media reports, Dodik thanked Vladimir Putin for his support.
At the same time, he emphasized that Trump’s victory in the 2024 UC presidential election created a more favorable political environment.
Money, Influence, and a New Link between Washington and Banja Luka
The case of Blair and LaCivita is part of a much broader network of political and business relations that, in recent years, has developed between Republika Srpska and people connected to Trump. That message has a clear political value for the authorities of Republika Srpska.
The closeness with Trump’s circle gives them access to people in Washington, opens room for lobbying, and provides Dodik and his allies with the opportunity to use American politics as an important part of their political strategy. For Trump’s associates, on the other hand, Republika Srpska represents a lucrative market for political consulting and lobbying.
More than four million dollars paid to lobbyists and political operatives related to Trump’s circle since early last year alone demonstrate the scale of that relationship.
The recent involvement of Blair and LaCivita is therefore not an isolated incident.
It is part of a broader process in which the political interests of the Republika Srpska government and Trump’s political circle are increasingly intertwined.
The paradox lies in the fact that Republika Srpska simultaneously maintains close relations with Moscow, supports Putin, and opposes part of Western policy toward Bosnia and Herzegovina, while investing millions of dollars into building ties with Trump’s Washington.
While Trump’s political operatives in America are trying to secure Republican control over Congress, the same people are, in the meantime, charging for their political experience and contacts in Banja Luka.
