Several high-profile conservative figures criticized the arrival of accused human trafficker and Trump supporter Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan in the U.S. after the Trump administration reportedly pressured Romanian officials to lift their travel restrictions.
Andrew Tate arrives in the United States at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on ... [+]
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis: DeSantis said during a Thursday press conference, “Florida is not a place where you’re welcome with that type of conduct in the air,” after Tate and his brother landed in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., adding “we were not involved, we were not notified.”
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier: Uthmeier said his office is conducting a “preliminary inquiry” into the Tates’ arrival in a post on X in which he said “Florida has zero tolerance for any human trafficking and violence against women.”
Dave Portney, Barstool Sports founder: Portnoy, a Trump supporter with a heavily right-leaning audience, posted, “what’s the point of booting out illegals and criminals while somehow becoming a safe haven for the Tate brothers?” in a post on X criticizing various actions by the Trump administration.
Ben Shapiro: The conservative pundit and co-founder of the right-wing Daily Wire said, “America does not need more self-proclaimed pimps and terror supporters with outstanding criminal allegations of sex trafficking and a history of pornographic distribution” in a post on X responding to the Tates’ release, while Daily Wire co-founder Jeremy Boreing called Tate “the enemy of any traditional American conservatism.”
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo.: Hawley told the HuffPost, “I don’t think conservatives should be glorifying this guy at all . . . I certainly don’t think that we should be using any influence in our government to try to get him out of what seemed to be extremely serious charges in Romania. So I would hope that we weren’t involved in any way.”
Megyn Kelly: The Conservative media personality criticized the Tampa Bay Young Republicans Club for its X post welcoming Andrew Tate to Florida and inviting him to speak to the group, responding, “you’ve lost your way, boys.”
The Tampa Bay Young Republicans’ post prompted criticism from several conservative figures—the Tallahassee-based Capital Young Republicans called it “deeply disturbing,” while Rafael Struve, the communications director for the nonprofit Hispanic advocacy organization that helps elect GOP candidates, Bienvenido, posted, “what the hell is this? You’re rolling out the red carpet for a pair of self-styled pimps and predators.”
Some of Trump’s allies, including his son Donald Trump Jr. and Elon Musk, have expressed support for Andrew Tate. Trump Jr. called Tate’s detention in Romania “absolute insanity” in a post on X in May last year, while Musk said in January Tate’s criticism of the U.K. “political establishment” is “not wrong.”
The Trump administration reportedly pressured Romanian officials to release the brothers, the Financial Times reported, citing unnamed sources. Romanian foreign minister Emil Hurezeanu confirmed having a discussion with Trump’s special envoy Richard Grenell about the matter in an interview with Euronews, but said he did not interpret the conversation as pressure from Grenell. Trump told reporters Thursday “I know nothing about that,” when asked if his administration had any role in their release.
Tate, a self-proclaimed misogynist who promotes machismo and openly degrades women online, and his brother arrived in Fort Lauderdale Thursday after Romanian officials released travel restrictions against the brothers. The brothers, who are dual U.S.-British citizens, were arrested in Romania in 2022 and charged with human trafficking and criminal gang activity, with prosecutors alleging they lured women to Romania and sexually exploited them. Andrew Tate is also charged with rape. The brothers deny the allegations against them. They also face a separate sexual misconduct case in the U.K.