President Donald Trump insisted he "knows nothing" about Andrew and Tristan Tate returning to the US on Thursday amid reports of his administration pressing Romanian authorities to lift travel restrictions on the brothers. Self-proclaimed misogynist influencer brothers, who are charged with human trafficking in Romania, landed in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Thursday after authorities lifted travel restrictions on the siblings.
The Tates, who are dual US-British citizens, were arrested in late 2022 and formally indicted last year on charges they participated in a criminal ring that lured women to Romania, where they were sexually exploited. Andrew Tate was also charged with rape. They deny the allegations.
Mr Trump on Thursday told reporters at the Oval Office that he did not know anything about the circumstances: “I just know nothing about it. We’ll check it out. We’ll let you know," he said. British prime minister Keir Starmer, who was present at the joint press conference, noted that the Tates face UK legal challenges as well and called for justice to be served. Sir Keir said: "There's an English element here, so obviously it's important that justice is done, and human trafficking is obviously, to my mind, a security risk.".
Romanian officials have denied there was political “pressure” but have confirmed US special envoy Richard Grenell requested the brothers be able to travel freely. The issue was first brought up in a phone call in early February and then shortly after in person at the Munich Security Conference, The Financial Times reported.
Emil Hurezeanu, spokesperson for Romanian foreign minister, said at the time that “Romanian courts are independent and operate based on the law, there is due process”. It’s not currently known if the Tate brothers are travelling to Florida to meet Mr Trump. The pair have long been vocal supporters of the US president, and have many supporters of their own in his inner circle.
Weeks ago, Andrew Tate posted on X: “The Tates will be free, Trump is the president. The good old days are back. And they will be better than ever. Hold on.”. Mr Trump is the "primary" reason the Tate brothers feel safe to return to the US, their lawyers reportedly said in a statement. "As a result, they are excited to call America their home again," Joseph McBride said, according to the BBC.
He added that Andrew and Tristan Tate "plan to return to Romania at the end of March to meet the prosecutor before returning to the United States". The brothers are still required to appear before judicial authorities when summoned. Florida governor Ron DeSantis said Andrew and Tristan Tate were not welcome in the state and that the state's attorney general was looking into jurisdictions to "deal with this".
“No, Florida is not a place where you're welcome with that type of conduct,” the governor said. Speaking to reporters at the airport, Andrew Tate repeated his insistence that the siblings had done nothing wrong. “We live in a democratic society where it’s innocent until proven guilty. And I think my brother and I are largely misunderstood. There’s a lot of opinions about us, things that go around about us on the internet,” he said.
