(AFP) – US President Donald Trump will not stop the extradition of influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan to Britain on sex crime charges, the White House said on Thursday. Self-professed misogynist Tate and his younger sibling were detained by US authorities in Miami on Saturday in a move their lawyer called “politically motivated.” The Tates are challenging their extradition.
“No,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told a news briefing when asked if Trump or the administration planned to intervene in the Tates’ extradition process. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also distanced the administration from the case. “There’s no role for us to play at this moment or maybe ever in that regard,” he told reporters in the Philippines on Wednesday.
The Tate brothers are avid supporters of Trump and were part of the hypermasculine “manosphere” that contributed to the Republican’s 2024 US presidential election victory. Andrew Tate also tried to cultivate relationships in the past with Trump’s sons Don Jr and Barron, US media reported.
The Tates were arrested after British prosecutors announced new charges of rape, sex trafficking and assault. They now face 59 charges in total — 42 against Andrew and 17 against Tristan. Their lawyer said on Monday that they were innocent and would fight extradition. “It’s politically motivated. There’s no question about it,” lawyer Joseph McBride told reporters outside a Miami court after a hearing on the case.
In Romania, where they have been based in recent years, the Tates face allegations of trafficking minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering. In March 2025, the US state of Florida launched a criminal investigation into the brothers. The status of that investigation is unclear.
Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari, a Democrat from Arizona, called for a probe into whether Trump administration officials, congressional offices or people close to the president improperly intervened to protect the Tates. “No individual — regardless of wealth, political party, or access to the first family and the president — is above the law or beyond the reach of justice,” she wrote in a letter to House Oversight Chairman James Comer.
© 2024 AFP
