周三，即将退休的参议员汤姆·蒂利斯（共和党，北卡罗来纳州）谴责了一份报告。该报告称，特朗普总统的两名顾问在美国中期选举周期期间，因向巴尔干地区一个亲俄政府提供咨询而获得了巨额利润。这位参议员同时担任参议院北约观察小组联合主席，在接受CNN记者凯西·亨特采访时，他将塞尔维亚共和国称为“破坏稳定的势力”。
Retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) on Wednesday condemned a report that two consultants to President Trump received a large profit from their work advising a pro-Russian government in the Balkans during the U.S. midterm election cycle. The senator, who serves as co-chair of the Senate NATO Observer Group, called Republika Srpska a “destabilizing force” during an interview with CNN’s Kasie Hunt.
蒂利斯表示：“这些人并不缺钱，他们没必要做这种事。他们本就不该这么做，如果这些报道属实，他们应该立即、立即终止这种关系。”《纽约时报》周二报道称，克里斯·拉西维塔和詹姆斯·布莱尔在该国周日举行选举之前，前往了波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那的一个小型自治领土——塞尔维亚共和国。据称，这两位负责特朗普中期选举广告活动的人士，通过一家位于华盛顿的公司各获得了数百美元报酬。
“These guys are not hurting for money. They don’t need to be doing that,” Tillis said. “They shouldn’t be doing it, and if the reports are true, they should get out of that relationship very, very quickly.”The New York Times reported Tuesday that Chris LaCivita and James Blair traveled to Republica Srpska, a small self-governing territory in Bosnia and Herzegovina, ahead of the country’s elections on Sunday. The pair, who are leading Trump’s midterm advertising campaign, were reportedly paid hundreds of dollars each through a Washington-based firm that the country’s government hired to advise on voting issues.
该公司受塞尔维亚共和国政府委托，负责提供投票相关问题的咨询。两名与《纽约时报》交谈的人士指出，这项工作是为政府而非控制该国的民族主义政党服务的，但两者关系密切。塞尔维亚共和国的主导政党已将该国与俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京的立场保持一致。布莱尔此前曾担任白宫副幕僚长，今年4月辞去该职务，以便在中期选举期间负责运营特朗普的超级政治行动委员会MAGA Inc.。
Two people who spoke with the Times noted this work was for the government and not the nationalist party that controls it, but the two are heavily intertwined. Republika Srpska’s dominant party has aligned the country with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Blair previously served as the White House deputy chief of staff before leaving this role in April to run MAGA Inc., the president’s super PAC, during the midterm elections.
拉西维塔曾担任特朗普2024年总统竞选活动的联合经理，目前则是MAGA Inc.的高级顾问。周三，特朗普似乎与这两人划清了界限，称他们为“外部顾问”，并表示如果他们的工作与白宫产生冲突，他将终止与他们的合作。尽管蒂利斯表示，是否解雇布莱尔和拉西维塔的决定“应由他人做出”，但他仍敦促这两位顾问与巴尔干政府切断联系。
LaCivita served as a co-manager on Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and is currently a senior adviser to MAGA Inc. The president appeared to distance himself from the pair on Wednesday, calling them “outside consultants,” and said he would terminate them if their work conflicted with the White House. While Tillis said he would “leave” the decision of whether or not to fire Blair and LaCivita, he urged the advisers to cut ties with the Balkan government.
“这关乎了解你的客户，而这位客户对该地区来说是个坏消息，对我们在该地区的合作伙伴而言更是如此，”蒂利斯说道，并补充道，“这看起来非常糟糕。”
“This is about knowing your customer, and this customer is bad news for that region and certainly for our partners in the region,” Tillis said, adding, “It’s a horrible look.”