President Donald Trump fired back after the establishment media published hit pieces accusing two of his top outside advisers of recently traveling to the Balkans to help the pro-Russian government of Republika Srpska.
“Chris LaCivita and James Blair are outside consultants,” the president wrote on Truth Social, naming the two advisers. “They do not work for me, other than as outside consultants. They most likely have numerous clients, but for that, you would have to ask them.”
“They are allowed to do work for others, just like all consultants in Washington, D.C.,” he continued. “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!”
The post was published on Wednesday, a day after The New York Times published the first hit piece targeting LaCivita and Blair for taking on a foreign political consulting assignment in Republika Srpska.
Chris LaCivita and James Blair are outside consultants. They do not work for me, other than as outside consultants. They most likely have numerous clients, but for that, you would have to ask them. They are allowed to do work for others, just like all consultants in Washington, D.C. 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! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP
( TS: Oct 7 2026, 12:02 PM ET )
— Commentary Donald J. Trump Truth Social Posts On X (@TrumpTruthOnX) October 8, 2026
The hit piece complained that the two men “were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars each through a Washington-based law firm that was retained by Republika Srpska’s government to provide counsel on voting issues.”
“Republika Srpska has aligned itself with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia,” The New York Times continued, adding that the republic’s government is controlled by a nationalist party.
“Mr. Trump’s allies have promoted the party’s embrace of Christian conservatism and its resistance to joining the European Union,” the report concluded.
Asked by the press on Wednesday about LaCivita and Blair’s work, the president stressed once again that they don’t work directly for him.
“Well, they don’t have a conflict because they’re independent people,” he said. “They don’t work for me. They are consultants, and I assume they have a lot of clients. So I don’t know who their clients are. If I thought they had a conflict with here, I would terminate.”
“But all they are is consultants,” he continued. “They don’t work in the White House. They’re not sitting around a Cabinet table or anything like that. They’re consultants, and I’m sure they have other clients. I’m sure they have many clients. But that would be true with everybody in Washington.”
Trump on Chris LaCivita and James Blair: They don’t have a conflict because they don’t work for me. They are consultants and I assume they have a lot of clients, so I don’t know who their clients are. If I thought they had a conflict, I would terminate, but all they are is consultants. They’re not sitting around a cabinet table or anything like that.
— Acyn (@Acyn) October 7, 2026
Sources who spoke with CNN alleged that the president had been unaware of the two men’s work in the Balkans until The New York Times’ hit piece report dropped.
“The president then made a series of phone calls Tuesday night asking his allies what their take on the story was,” CNN reported, citing its sources.
According to the sources, Trump was annoyed and even “pissed” because the two men were overseas making money when they should have been working on drumming up Republican support ahead of the midterms.
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Blair, who reportedly served as the political director of Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, recently joined MAGA Inc. precisely to focus on midterm spending and strategy, according to The New York Times. LaCivita is MAGA Inc’s co-manager.
In a text message statement to The New York Times, MAGA Inc. spokesperson Alex Pfeiffer dismissed the paper’s hit piece, telling them that LaCivita and Blair have been fully engaged in the midterm efforts.
“James and Chris hosted a team call with race captains on Saturday morning to go over recent survey data,” Pfeiffer wrote.
Republican strategist Ward Baker also defended the two.
“There’s no one that cares more about the president than Chris LaCivita and James Blair, and they’ve shown it over and over again,” he told Politico.
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