Tirana | 04 November 2025 – Advisors who previously worked on Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaigns have been paid more than $1.6 million to advise Albania’s Democratic Party (PD) on strategy for the May parliamentary elections, according to a financial report submitted to the Central Election Commission on Monday.
The report shows that Chris LaCivita’s consulting company—one of the lead strategists in Trump’s 2024 campaign—received over $1.62 million, while Tony Fabrizio’s polling firm, another Trump campaign advisor, was paid approximately $65,000 for survey services.
Despite the involvement of these American consultants, the Democratic Party suffered a heavy defeat to the Socialist Party in May. The U.S. consultants, including Paul Manafort, former interim Trump campaign manager in 2016, attempted to position Sali Berisha as a political figure similar to Donald Trump, according to The New York Times.
Payments were made over a period of less than four months, from mid-February to the end of May 2025. LaCivita, Fabrizio, and Manafort reportedly worked together in Tirana as part of a consulting team, with LaCivita’s company, Advancing Strategies, likely subcontracting the services of the other two—a common practice in political campaigns.
The American consultants, known for winning U.S. presidential campaigns, are often sought internationally, earning lucrative contracts from foreign election campaigns.
During the campaign, LaCivita and Manafort portrayed Berisha as a victim of a “witch hunt” orchestrated by his internal rivals and U.S. Democrats, including philanthropist George Soros and the administration of former President Joe Biden.
Berisha faces corruption charges related to a property scandal and was sanctioned by the U.S. State Department in 2021 for significant corruption. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that Berisha had misused public funds to enrich allies and family members.
Following the electoral loss, LaCivita supported Berisha’s claims that the results were manipulated, though the requested recount did not validate these allegations.
