Republican anger erupted against two of President Donald Trump's top political advisers after they spent part of the final midterm stretch helping a pro-Russian government in the Balkans.
Republican operatives and former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon tore into MAGA Inc. leaders James Blair and Chris LaCivita in comments in a Politico Playbook article published Wednesday.
Blair runs MAGA Inc., the Trump-backed super PAC working to protect Republican control of Congress, and LaCivita, who co-managed Trump's 2024 campaign, is a senior adviser there, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
The Times said each man was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to advise the government of Republika Srpska, a Russia-aligned region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, while Trump held midterm rallies last week. The two returned Monday, a day after the region voted.
The trip came less than a month before Election Day, as polls show Democrats are likely to win the House while the Senate is closer to a toss-up, according to Politico's Playbook PM.
"We are out here fighting for our lives and these dudes are in some random a— country made up of too many consonants no one has ever heard of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars while telling all of us to chill out because they've got it," one Republican operative told Playbook's Megan Messerly. "It's legitimately shocking."
"[California Gov. Gavin] Newsom just said 'the Democrats need to focus on ending Trump's presidency in 28 days' while these two grifters are out of the country — and we wonder why the MAGA base may have an enthusiasm gap," Bannon told Playbook's Will Steakin.
"We need a forensic audit of where the money went so the president has the information to hold people accountable," Bannon added.
"If this doesn't show how checked out Republicans are, not sure what does," another Republican operative told Steakin. "Doesn't look like what you do when you're about to win a ton of races in the U.S."
"Not a good look," a person close to the White House told Messerly. "I think Chris is doing what Chris has always done — and my guess is after 2 years on the campaign and 2 more in the WH James wanted a taste of $ … and honestly I think it may piss DJT off."
"This just continues to feed the Russia connection. Unnecessarily," a former Trump administration official told Politico's Alex Gangitano.
"James Blair and Chris La Civita are overseas doing consulting work while the MAGA GOP burns to the ground here at home," Rick Wilson, a co-founder of the anti-Trump Lincoln Project, wrote on X Tuesday night. "Thanks, guys! Stay longer!"
"Pretty much anyone who has worked with him thinks he's scum," Jacob Perry, a political consultant who has worked on Republican, Democratic and nonpartisan campaigns, wrote about Blair on X Wednesday.
"If not for this story being published, no one involved in the midterms would have even known he took the trip, because he was working quite literally around the clock on races," a Trump-aligned operative who works on campaigns told Steakin, defending Blair.
"In short, James was busting his a— trying to win the midterms as usual, while everyone who is sending this story around DC was at brunch," the operative added.
Blair and LaCivita did not respond to requests for comment, Playbook reported.
"Chris LaCivita and James Blair are outside consultants. They do not work for me, other than as outside consultants," Trump wrote on Truth Social Wednesday morning.
"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 president added.
"You know, they don't work in the White House. They're not sitting around a Cabinet table or anything like that," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that afternoon.
"I would ask them. Sure," Trump said when a reporter asked whether he would request the pair's client list.
In April, Trump announced on Truth Social that Blair, then his deputy chief of staff, was taking "a short leave of absence" and would "return again to the White House" after the election, Just the News reported.