Milorad Dodik to Visit Mar-a-Lago, The Atlantic Reports

Milorad Dodik, the separatist Bosnian Serb leader, is expected to attend an upcoming gathering of MAGA luminaries at Mar-a-Lago in the days following the November 2026 midterm elections, according to The Atlantic.

The Post-Election Gathering at Mar-a-Lago

In the days after Tuesday’s midterm elections, figures from the MAGA movement will gather at Mar-a-Lago to turn their attention toward the 2028 presidential election. Speakers slated for the event include a Cabinet secretary, the head of the Domestic Policy Council, and several members of Congress. According to The Atlantic and as highlighted on X by Alexport, the Kremlin-leaning autocrat who has boasted about tracking Americans and recently labeled Russian President Vladimir Putin one of the most peace-loving leaders of our era is likewise anticipated to participate. Dodik is the de facto leader of Bosnia’s Serb population, concentrated in the political entity of Republika Srpska within Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Republika Srpska Pays Trump Advisers for Lobbying

The planned appearance of Dodik at the Florida estate highlights a dramatic turnaround in fortune during the Trump presidency, the triumph of a costly international lobbying effort, and a deeper convergence between American and Russian objectives. Republika Srpska paid two of Donald Trump’s top political advisers, James Blair and Chris LaCivita, as consultants and flew them to the Serb-majority entity for elections earlier this month. After news of the work became public and Trump lashed out on Truth Social, Blair and LaCivita donated their earnings to Trump’s presidential library fund. When his party won a decisive result, Dodik credited both Trump and Putin for their support.

The Srpska government has spent money on lobbyists to burnish Dodik’s image with people around the president. Among those tapped are Rudy Giuliani, the president’s former personal lawyer, former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, and the firm employing Katie Wiles, daughter of White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. In October 2025, the Trump administration dropped the sanctions that the Biden administration had imposed on Dodik in 2022 for graft, corruption, and bribery.

Dodik Seeks Secession Amid International Alarm

Dodik’s push for secession risks reigniting bloody sectarian conflict in the Balkans. In 2022, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned him for threatening the stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the nation where ethnic divisions catalyzed a brutal war from 1992 to 1995. Sources within and formerly part of the U.S. government shared with The Atlantic that Dodik might feel urgency to realize his goal of making Srpska independent in the near term, considering Trump is expected to show him more warmth than a potential Democratic successor following the 2028 vote. Diplomats and regional experts have viewed these U.S. concessions with significant alarm due to his avowed separatist aims and explicit backing by Vladimir Putin.

CPAC Plans Retreat at Mar-A-Lago

The event planned at Mar-a-Lago is an offshoot of the Conservative Political Action Conference. Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union and CPAC’s host, declined to comment on individual attendees when asked by The Atlantic, stating that the focus will be on America’s future heading into 2028. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.