Trump threatens to fire Blair and LaCivita over paid Bosnia work

President Donald Trump publicly distanced himself on Wednesday from two top political advisers, James Blair and Chris LaCivita, writing that if their outside work presents a conflict, "I will terminate them, immediately!" The warning came a day after The New York Times reported that the two men traveled to the Balkans last week for paid work on behalf of Republika Srpska, a pro-Russian self-governing territory in Bosnia and Herzegovina, ahead of elections there on Sunday.

According to the Times, Blair and LaCivita were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars each through a Washington-based law firm retained by Republika Srpska's government. Blair leads Trump's outside political operation; LaCivita was co-manager of the 2024 campaign. Both are now helping run a big-money midterm advertising campaign.

Trump was unaware of the trip or the clientele until he was briefed on the impending Times piece, according to CNN, which cited sources describing him as annoyed. A veteran Republican in touch with the president told CNN he was "pissed." Reuters reported that Trump was caught off guard and angered by the trip, and that he ultimately concluded there was no conflict.

On Truth Social, Trump wrote that the two are "outside consultants" who "do not work for me other than as outside consultants," adding, "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 episode lands less than 30 days before the midterm elections, raising questions about conflict-of-interest vetting for outside consultants and whether the association with a pro-Russian government becomes a political liability in the campaign's final stretch.

- https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/07/politics/trump-fire-james-blair-chris-lacivita - https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/06/us/politics/trump-advisers-republika-srpska.html - https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-says-hell-fire-advisers-lacivita-blair-if-theres-conflict-2026-10-07/ - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/07/trump-advisers-republika-srpska