Here’s How They Host A Trump Rally In The Balkans

At a campaign rally in his home village of Mrčajevci, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Milorad Dodik, former president of Republika Srpska, pledged loyalty to both Washington and Moscow. The Daily Caller News Foundation attended Thursday's gathering, held in an indoor soccer stadium with roast pork, cheese, bread and family-made Rakija, while cigarette smoke filled the room.

Dodik is not on the ballot. He leads the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats and is backing its candidates, but he is barred from holding office after former high representative Christian Schmidt removed him. That followed Dodik's July 2023 change to the criminal code, which set prison terms of six months to five years for ignoring a high representative's decision.

Dodik said he spoke with Vladimir Putin two days earlier and that Putin values Donald Trump. He argued that a small community like Republika Srpska should be neither anti-American nor anti-Russian, but must oppose Brussels, which he accused of favoring Muslims. He promised that he and presidency candidate Željka Cvijanović would keep deportees from settling there.

Summarized by PolitiKool from Daily Caller’s reporting. Read the full story at Daily Caller →