The pro-Russian Bosnian Serb leader, Milorad Dodik, won a MAGA grace after a massive lobbying campaign -. The Atlantic. In the coming days - following the November 3 midterm elections - prominent MAGA figures will gather at Mar-a-Lago to focus on 2028. Milorad Dodik, a pro-Russian leader who boasted of spying on Americans and recently called Russian President Vladimir Putin "one of the most peace-loving leaders in the world," will also participate. Dodik is the de facto leader of the Serb population in Bosnia and Herzegovina, whose secession efforts threaten a renewed bloody conflict in the Balkans. Dodik's expected presence at Mar-a-Lago reflects his reversal of fortune under the Trump administration, the success of an expensive overseas lobbying campaign, and the continued convergence of U.S. and Russian interests. In 2022, the Biden administration sanctioned Dodik for what the Treasury Department called "bribery," "corruption" and "payoffs," as well as threats to the stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since Trump's return to the White House, the Republika Srpska government has spent millions of dollars on lobbyists in an attempt to improve Dodik's image among Trump's inner circle. The strategy was to paint him as a martyr in the mold of the American president - a victim of legal maneuvering and an advocate for Christian values, while holding back what some Serb nationalists characterize as a wave of Muslim influence. Among those whose services Dodik and his allies enlisted were the president's former personal attorney Rudy Giuliani; former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who was pardoned by Trump last year; and the firm where Katie Wiles, daughter of White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, works. In October 2025, the Trump administration lifted the sanctions. The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control provided no justification.

The pro-Russian Bosnian Serb leader, Milorad Dodik, won a MAGA grace after a massive lobbying campaign -. The Atlantic. In the coming days - following the November 3 midterm elections - prominent MAGA figures will gather at Mar-a-Lago to focus on 2028. Milorad Dodik, a pro-Russian leader who boasted of spying on Americans and recently called Russian President Vladimir Putin "one of the most peace-loving leaders in the world," will also participate. Dodik is the de facto leader of the Serb population in Bosnia and Herzegovina, whose secession efforts threaten a renewed bloody conflict in the Balkans. Dodik's expected presence at Mar-a-Lago reflects his reversal of fortune under the Trump administration, the success of an expensive overseas lobbying campaign, and the continued convergence of U.S. and Russian interests. In 2022, the Biden administration sanctioned Dodik for what the Treasury Department called "bribery," "corruption" and "payoffs," as well as threats to the stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since Trump's return to the White House, the Republika Srpska government has spent millions of dollars on lobbyists in an attempt to improve Dodik's image among Trump's inner circle. The strategy was to paint him as a martyr in the mold of the American president - a victim of legal maneuvering and an advocate for Christian values, while holding back what some Serb nationalists characterize as a wave of Muslim influence. Among those whose services Dodik and his allies enlisted were the president's former personal attorney Rudy Giuliani; former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who was pardoned by Trump last year; and the firm where Katie Wiles, daughter of White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, works. In October 2025, the Trump administration lifted the sanctions. The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control provided no justification.