In a firm slapdown worthy of the West Wing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has categorically denied unverified reports that President Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, barred Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic from attending an event at Mar-a-Lago.
Conspiracy theories — many launched from the anti-Trump corners of the Balkan press — suggested that Wiles barred Vucic at the gates of Trump’s Florida estate. The truth, however, appears less cloak-and-dagger and more cardiovascular.
Vucic, 55, abruptly ended his U.S. visit and returned to Belgrade after suffering what doctors later described as a hypertensive episode: a spike in blood pressure and chest discomfort. American physicians reportedly urged him to remain in Florida, but Vucic opted to fly home at once.
In the meantime, unverified whispers about a supposed Mar-a-Lago snub took off faster than an X thread in an election year, forming the edges of a scandal that never was. Over the weekend, the Balkan rumor mill caught fire.
As The Pavlovic Today reveals exclusively, there was no snub, no block, no scandal.
“The Chief of Staff did not ‘block’ him [President Vucic] from attending any event at Mar-a-Lago,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told The Pavlovic Today. “That is fake news.”
Vucic was in Florida, where he was expected to meet with Trump. He met earlier with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and publicly expressed hopes to strike an economic deal with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, set against the backdrop of Trump’s tariffs.
Upon his return to Serbia, Vucic was treated by Dr. Dragan Dincic at Belgrade’s Military Hospital.
“He is in stable and satisfactory condition,” the doctor confirmed. The Serbian president is expected to resume his duties on Wednesday and address the nation.
Richard Grenell, U.S. presidential envoy for special missions, expressed hope for Vucic’s recovery, writing on X: “Sorry to miss you but hope all is ok.”
So ends, for now, this not-quite-diplomatic incident — not House of Cards, not quite Le Carre. Closer, in the end, to House of Hypertension.
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