https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/03/andrew-tate-trump-administration/681873/

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Why Trumpworld is just fine with Andrew Tate’s violent misogyny

Andrew Tate is not a subtle man. Although he denies all of the criminal allegations against him—which include human trafficking, rape, and money laundering—he constantly and loudly proclaims his misogyny and fascination with violence. Whatever else you might say about the kickboxer turned right-wing-manosphere influencer, he is not a hypocrite. In public, he has said that women “bear responsibility” for sexual assault. In private, he reportedly told one woman whom he’d been dating, “I love raping you.”

This is the guy who landed in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, this week, after his plight was taken up by influencers and fixers from the movement to “Make America great again.” Until this week, Andrew and his brother, Tristan, had been banned from leaving Romania, where both are under investigation. President Donald Trump claimed Thursday that he knew nothing about the brothers’ release, even though his special envoy, Richard Grenell, had previously discussed their case with Romanian officials. The Tates’ presence in Florida looks like a reward to the manosphere, which helped draw male voters to Trump. It’s also a signal that MAGA world looks after its own.

To most adults, Andrew, the alpha Tate brother, cuts a ludicrous figure, with his cigars, frequently bared chest, and penchant for sockless loafers. But he is a hero to millions of teenage boys and young men, who both consume and spread his content, despite his seeing them as stupid marks to be exploited. At his peak, Tate supported his flashy lifestyle by encouraging his young male fan base to join his “War Room” and sign up for worthless courses at his “Hustlers University.” (He once offered a “PhD”—a “pimping hoes degree.”)

The Tate brothers, who are dual U.S.-British citizens, were awaiting trial in Romania over sex-abuse and trafficking allegations by more than 40 women, many of whom worked as performers for their webcam business. (Tristan, like his brother, denies all wrongdoing.) According to the Romanian authorities, they used the “loverboy” method to recruit these women, “misrepresenting their intention to enter into a marriage/cohabitation relationship and the existence of genuine feelings of love.” By Andrew’s own admission, the women were then confined to his compound outside Bucharest and set to work in a “scam” operation soliciting money from men online. The youngest of the alleged victims groomed into working for the webcam operation was 15. According to prosecution documents leaked to the BBC, an audio recording captures Tristan Tate saying he will “slave these bitches,” while one complainant says that Andrew told her, “Shut up you whore, you will do as I say.” The Tates are supposed to return to Romania as the case against them progresses, but without American help the authorities there cannot force the brothers to do so. An outstanding European arrest warrant against them, issued to British police after four women made a civil claim against the brothers in the U.K., is also now worthless without U.S. cooperation.