Trump's Top Political Advisers Are in Hot Water
Chris LaCivita and James Blair are facing sharp criticism after taking a foreign political job just weeks before a major U.S. election.
Two of President Donald Trump's top political advisers are in serious trouble with the White House. Chris LaCivita and James Blair helped Trump win the 2024 presidential election. But they secretly traveled to the Balkans to help a foreign government get reelected, all while Republicans back home were struggling to hold their seats in Congress just 26 days before a major election. Trump said he did not know about the trip and was angry when he found out.
Trump posted on his Truth Social platform to publicly distance himself from both men. He called them 'outside consultants' who 'do not work for me.' This was a big change, because just months earlier Trump had praised Blair as 'one of the brightest political minds in the Country.' Trump apparently called several advisers for their opinions before posting, and he dictated the message to an aide named Natalie Harp.
People close to the White House said the news about the foreign trip made tensions explode. 'This has opened the floodgates,' one person told Playbook, a political newsletter. Another said LaCivita and Blair were 'in full-on panic mode,' calling people and begging them to speak up in their defense. The anger at the two advisers had actually been building for months.
Not everyone turned against LaCivita and Blair. Republican strategist Ward Baker, who worked with both men on a Senate campaign, defended them strongly. 'There's no one that cares more about the president than Chris LaCivita and James Blair,' Baker said. He also criticized the people speaking out against them, saying they 'have no courage' and 'probably have gotten their butt kicked by these guys.'
Some Republicans working on midterm campaigns said the trip did not really hurt their work. One consultant said most tasks are done by phone, and he did not even know LaCivita and Blair had left the country until he read about it in a newspaper. But another Republican operative was not confident about the campaign's ads, saying bluntly, 'The MAGA Inc. ads aren't going to save us anyways.'
"The knives are now fully out for these two."
Comprehension quiz preview
1. Why were Chris LaCivita and James Blair in trouble with the White House?
2. What did Trump call LaCivita and Blair in his Truth Social post?
3. Who defended LaCivita and Blair, saying no one cares more about the president than they do?