Former campaign advisors of President Donald Trump are at work on a new campaign in the Balkans, hoping to tip the scales for the right-wing Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha, who faces off against the highly favored Socialist Party leader and Prime Minister Edi Rama in Sundays parliamentary elections.Former Trump campaign manager Chris LaCivita, Trump 2016 campaign manager Paul Manafort, and strategist and pollster Tony Fabrizio round out the team backing Berisha, according to the Associated Press.LaCivita has compared Trump and Berisha, saying they are both "unfairly prosecuted and persecuted by a government that has no regard for Democracy."When asked by Syri TVs Cim Peka why the Albanian election is important for the world, LaCivita said that "one of the things that many of us know in the United States is that the Soros family is very active in politics around the globe, and its not just regular politics, its destabilizing politics." LaCivita said that the family thrives "in an environment where the governments are insecure and they found the perfect home unfortunately in Albania, and they found the perfect prime minister in Edi Rama."SOROS V TRUMP SOCIALISTS TARGET CONSERVATIVES IN UPCOMING EUROPEAN NATION'S ELECTIONThe Socialist Rama is hoping to win a fourth consecutive term as PM in Sunday's election on a promise of bringing Albania into the European Union while the country still faces major problems of graft and corruption.LaCivita explained that calling out Soros involvement was important "because it has an impact on Albanias future." He said that Berishas campaign is "about the Albanian people," explaining that their "biggest desire is to be able to work, live, and raise a family and have a future and so any time that there are individuals or that there are organizations that want to create an atmosphere that make that difficult, to me theyre the actual enemy and those are the people that we wage campaigns to actually defeat."George and Alex Soros Open Society Foundations has been very involved in the Balkans and has invested over $131 million in Albania in a period of 18 years. Requests sent to representatives of the Soros' Open Society were not returned by press time.When Fox News Digital spoke to Berisha in April about the impediments he faced in the May 11 elections, he named the sanctions placed against him by the Biden administration for allegations of corruption in 2021. "Im not able to meet with Albanian Americans, which are so numerous, and in this election, for the first time, they have the right to vote for the party and candidate they prefer in their country of origin," Berisha explained.ALBANIA ISSUES YEARLONG TIKTOK BAN AMID YOUTH VIOLENCE CONCERNSTo date, there appears to be no movement on sanctions against Berisha. In April, the State Department did not respond to Fox News Digitals questions about whether it would consider lifting sanctions against Berisha, and whether the sanctions in place impeded free and fair elections in Albania. A spokesperson told Fox News Digital Thursday that "the Department has nothing to report on this designation at this time."Berishas race has been fraught by other complications, including being stripped of his legal immunity in December 2023 and held under house arrest until November 2024. Berisha is currently awaiting trial on corruption charges.Berisha told Fox News Digital that the charges were the product of lawfare leveled against him by Rama and Soros.Berisha is not the only opposition candidate who has faced charges in the lead-up to elections. Former Albanian president Ilir Meta was also arrested on corruption allegations in October 2024.ALBANIANS RALLY BY THE THOUSANDS AGAINST RULING SOCIALIST GOVERNMENTFormer Albanian Ambassador to the United States and the United Nations Agim Nesho told Fox News Digital that "May 11 elections are unfolding under intense pressure from the ruling Socialist Party, which has clung to power for over 12 years. The regime stands accused of jailing opposition leaders on fabricated charges, weaponizing state institutions, and silencing dissent in a country where citizens are increasingly afraid to speak freely."Nesho claimed that "the Albanian people are being denied the basic democratic rights to organize, vote, and oppose the government without fear. This system of repression, critics say, is supportedeither tacitly or directlyby elements of the Biden administration and global actors like Alex Soros, who have worked to undercut the opposition and prevent free and fair elections, much like the political persecution seen in the United States against former President Donald Trump."Saying that the "election could mark a turning point," as "a true grassroots movement is risingready to challenge state corruption and restore Albanias path to freedom, development, and democratic self-determination," Nesho called "on the Trump administration to closely monitor these elections and send a clear message to Tirana: America is watching."Nesho said "the United States must stand firmly on the side of democracy and the rule of law. The Albanian people deserve free elections, not another manipulated outcome enforced through fear and political imprisonment."Politico reported that while Ramas Socialist Party appears to be ahead in polling, the impact Albanians who live abroad being allowed to vote for the first time, and a lack of reliability in polling data may still leave room for Berisha to secure victory and return to office as prime minister.

Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., unloaded on Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, D-Mich., calling out the progressive "Squad" member for resurfaced comments about white men.During Thursday's episode of the Politics War Room podcast, Khanna said that "Democrats need to start every speech by saying, America is the greatest country in the world."Carville slammed the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, specifically Omar, for doing more harm than good for the party's cause.He clarified, "I am a liberal Democrat," but added, "I don't like let's just say the progressive wing of the Democratic Party all right." "My argument is maybe these people are not worth the trouble. Maybe they should just go their own way."JAMES CARVILLE SAYS DEMOCRATS CAN'T AFFORD TO LIE LIKE 'REPUBLICANS DO' BECAUSE THEY WOULD LOSE CREDIBILITYThe longtime Democratic strategist continued, focusing his sights on Omar from a resurfaced clip of a 2018 interview in which she said: "I would say our country should be more fearful of White men across our country, because they are actually causing most of the deaths within this country."She added at the time, while discussing jihadism, "And so if fear was the driving force of policies to keep America safe, Americans safe inside of this country, we should be profiling, monitoring, and creating policies to fight the radicalization of White men."Carville challenged, "Ilhan Omar says that white males are responsible for more deaths than anybody in the country. I have no idea whether that's true. Why say that?" "Why are we trying to p--s off one-third of the people that are going to vote?"Carville expanded on his point about isolating voters by breaking down the demographics of the electorate, questioning why progressives are seeking to antagonize "about a third of the electorate.""When is somebody going to say: Why don't you people just learn to shut up about this, you're not doing anybody any good," he asked.DAVID HOGG CLASHES WITH AN IRATE JAMES CARVILLE OVER DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY PLAN, CALLS ON HIM TO 'WIN ELECTIONS'Khanna also offered his take on Omar's comments on white Americans, saying he disagrees with her on a "substantive level.""I think that white Americans have done enormous things for our freedom," Khanna asserted. "I mean, who are the people who scaled the cliffs of Normandy? Many of them were white men."The California congressman continued: "It's not just I disagree politically, I disagree substantively. This is a great country. It is a kind country. It is a decent country."The Indian-American representative went on to recall his own family's experience of coming to the United States, praising the success his family achieved, which he felt "would not be possible anywhere else."CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPKhanna suggested that Democrats start every speech praising America."What Democrats should start every speech with is: 'America is the greatest country in the world. It's the most open country in the world. It's the least racist country in the world, and we want to make it better,'" Khanna asserted."Tell the caucus there's no future in us running against white men," Carville replied.Rep. Ilhan Omar's office did not immediately reply to Fox News Digital's latest request for comment. But she previously told Fox News Digital: "In this nearly 8yr old clip, I am referring to the rise of white nationalism in an annual report issued by the Anti-Defamation League that said white supremacists were responsible for 78 percent of "extremist-related murders," Omar said. "PS you should look up what "genocidal" actually means when youre actively supporting a genocide taking place in Gaza."

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