Those on the right who make excuses for Tate aren’t just fooling themselves. They’re threatening young women and misleading young men.
Those on the right who make excuses for Tate aren’t just fooling themselves. They’re threatening young women and misleading young men.
E very so often, an event becomes a turning point for a political group or movement. For the American Right, the Tate brothers’ return to the United States has been such a moment. Their return has revealed the extent to which “anti-woke” tribalism triumphs over careful, truthful honesty about Andrew Tate and his brother, Tristan. In reaction to the excesses and ideological overreach of the Left, a meaningful portion of the Right will embrace figures deemed sufficiently anti-elite, anti-globalist, and anti-woke — regardless of the evidence against their character or integrity.
The brothers, who appeared ringside at UFC 313 in Las Vegas just this past weekend, currently have two open cases against them in Romania. In the first, they are being charged with human trafficking, coercion, and forming a criminal network. In the second, they are being charged with the trafficking of minors, sexual intercourse with a minor, money laundering, and influencing statements. There is also an open criminal case against them in the United Kingdom for rape and sexual assault. And on March 4, Florida’s attorney general opened a criminal investigation.
Let these legal processes play out. But let us also observe the enormous swaths of publicly available evidence of the Tates’ malevolence. The material is highly disturbing. Videos (here, here, and here) show Andrew explaining how he emotionally manipulated women so he could exploit them for his webcam business (he boasts about stealing the majority of their earnings). His descriptions are textbook loverboy method, a tactic used by global human traffickers. Leaked chat logs of the War Room (one of the Tate’s exclusive programs) reveal how they taught men to use this method, including how to convince girls to tattoo the names of their pimps as an act of submission.
And that is the least of it. Videos have surfaced of Andrew Tate allegedly assaulting a 15-year-old girl. More exist strongly suggesting he groomed and started a sexual relationship with this girl knowing that she was a minor. Another video appears to show him documenting the aftermath of an assault. In another accusation, Tate allegedly texted a woman, “I love raping you” and sent her an audio recording saying, “The more you didn’t like it, the more I enjoyed it. I f***ing loved how much you hated it.” As for Tristan Tate, there is evidence he groomed and assaulted a 16-year-old girl. You can go on and on. More evidence suggests they have manipulated victims to offer false testimony, conspired to coerce witnesses, and falsified personal information to launder money. All of this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Defenses of the Tates will mindlessly repeat that “he hasn’t been convicted of anything” and that “they are innocent until proven guilty.” But as National Review’s editors wrote, “That they haven’t been convicted of anything doesn’t change the fact that Andrew and Tristan are woman-hating scumbags.” Dishonesty is a feature in the Tate ecosystem. When one of the Romanian indictments was paused for irregularities in the prosecution’s case, the Tates’ lawyer victoriously claimed their charges were dismissed. Soon thereafter, Andrew and Tristan made videos declaring their innocence and supporters parroted the “news” across social media. But this claim has been thoroughly debunked. The case is still open.
If you needed any more proof of the Tates’ abysmally low character, note that the first thing they did upon arriving in Florida was file a restraining order against a key witness in one of the Romania trials: a Florida resident who had been summoned by Romanian legal authorities to testify in the ongoing criminal prosecution.
How were the Tate brothers allowed on U.S. soil in the first place? Romania’s justice minister said he doesn’t know. In a statement, Romania’s anti-organized-crime agency, DIICOT, said the court approved a request to change the travel restrictions yet did not specify who made the request. When asked, President Trump said he knew nothing about the news and would “check it out.” Since then, we have yet to hear anything from the White House.
Many Trump allies, however, have a marked sympathy for the Tates’ plight. Special Presidential Envoy Richard Grenell believes that Andrew and Tristan Tate are victims of “woke” lawfare. He endorsed Tristan Tate’s suggestion that USAID dollars were funding their Romanian lawsuit, claiming in a quote ‘tweet’ that “USAid programs were weaponized against people and politicians who weren’t woke.” He continues to defend them.
Grenell is not the only Trump political intimate who views the Tate brothers positively. On a podcast earlier this year, Alina Habba, counselor to President Trump, told Andrew Tate she is a “big fan” and sympathetic to his cause, comparing the Tate’s human trafficking case to the New York lawfare against Trump. Paul Ingrassia, White House liaison for the Department of Homeland Security, has written several fawning posts about Tate. In one, he called Tate “an extraordinary human being” and a “threat that the global elites have targeted.” Ingrassia previously served on the Tates’ legal team in a defamation lawsuit filed against one of their alleged victims.
Then there is Donald Trump Jr., who in 2023 called the Tates’ house arrest “absolute insanity”; and Dan Bongino, Trump’s deputy director of the FBI, who has promoted Tate’s Rumble account. And though Elon Musk has not openly talked about the case, he signaled support for the Tates just last January, replying “Great point” to a post claiming that the “government and journalists” charging the Tate brothers were overlooking “actual sex trafficking.”
Given these endorsements, we can’t outright dismiss Andrew Tate’s claim that he is “very close” to the Trump family and knows them “well.” It could very well just be vain bravado. But the examples we do know about are alarming — and suggestive.
What’s beyond dispute is that many highly influential commentators, pundits, and political figures on the right have openly defended the Tate brothers or spoken favorably of them. Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens are prominent examples. Each conducted a sympathetic interview with Tate in 2023. Owens interviewed Tristan Tate last August, and Andrew Tate again last November (even more favorably this time) and again earlier this year. She continues to defend him.
YouTuber and Turning Point USA personality Benny Johnson is another example. In January, he hosted a friendly interview with Andrew Tate, calling him a “victim” of the “global fight against the freedom movement.” As is former Trump adviser Roger Stone, who routinely shouts on X, “Andrew and Tristan Tate did nothing wrong!” and claims they are being politically persecuted.
Charlie Kirk also appears to have favorable views of Tate. While he allegedly “doesn’t really have any strong opinions” and has expressed disapproval of Tate’s sexual vice and conversion to Islam, he has voiced agreement with many of Tate’s “provocative” views, shares Tate’s political content, and speaks positively of him on X (the few times he does mention Tate). And in one panel discussion, a segment titled “Andrew Tate: Prophet or Pimp?,” Kirk spoke only of his approval of Tate’s views on masculinity. At one point, Kirk even minimized the human trafficking allegations against Tate:
I don’t know enough about it [the case], but my inherent gut instinct is that when you get kicked off every major social media site, and indicted by a government. I’m usually like: You’re probably a threat to the regime. Because like, Jeffery Epstein was allowed to traffic children in this town by the way . . . and so, like, people who are on their moral high horse on Andrew Tate, it’s ,like, slow down pal, when are you going to indict Bill Clinton? . . . It’s a selective enforcement of morality.
There are many more individuals to note. Among those with favorable views of Tate, you can also include Texas congressman Wesley Hunt, former congressman Matt Gaetz, popular citizen journalist Mario Nawfal, podcast host and Valuetainment founder Patrick Bet-David, the Hodgetwins, podcast host The Redheaded libertarian, evangelical actor Kevin Sorbo, and MAGA comedian Terrence K. Williams, to name just a few.
The Right has an Andrew Tate problem.
The influence these individuals have within the conservative and right-wing mediasphere cannot be easily dismissed. They host popular podcasts and YouTube channels, organize youth conferences, serve in politics, and vote in Congress. Collectively, their platforms reach hundreds of millions of people. Many of them are well connected with influential political figures, especially those inside the Trump administration. The things they believe and the people they endorse shape the opinions of their audience, many of whom are young, impressionable men and women. What they believe about Andrew Tate matters.
Despite their ideological differences, most Tate supporters are convinced that the world’s forces are systematically weaponizing their collective power against the Tate brothers. There is certainly a half-truth to this claim. Andrew Tate was banned on social media platforms for hate speech. By attempting to limit Tate’s reach to young people, social media companies such as X (then Twitter) and Facebook provided Tate an opportunity to use political persecution as a cover for his history of vile words and actions. Since then, he has crafted a self-serving narrative that many on the right also sympathize with because they, too, have experienced media censorship. According to Tate, the “Matrix” is targeting him and anyone else who would dare be liberated from the “system.”
The “Matrix,” of course, is an amorphous concept. It’s basically shorthand for whomever or whatever is opposing Tate and his views at any given moment, whether it be feminism, traditional values, the concept of depression, the Florida government, the Romanian government, the British government, the liberal media, or X’s community notes. The term “The Matrix” functions much the way that “whiteness” does for progressives. It’s pervasive, nebulous, and supposedly explains every social dynamic, but lacks any substantive explanatory power. The concept’s appeal, however, lies in its use of the oppressor/oppressed frame. Because Andrew Tate and his brother are being targeted by some of the same institutions that have been unfair to conservatives and President Trump, a de facto solidarity is assumed.
That is why the Tate brothers appeal to so many people on the right. Both the Tates and those on the right who defend them make common cause against the “woke establishment” (the oppressor). They all fight against “the Matrix.” Tate is seen as an ally (of the oppressed) for being “anti-woke.” He is willing to say unpopular things to earn the hatred of the Left — a shared enemy. If you observe the language of Tate’s sympathizers, Tate is always framed as a “victim,” “a target of the regime,” “a threat the global elite have targeted.” Never is he suffering from the consequences of his actions or a justice system that looks down on sexual predators.
Many prominent conservatives do reject the Tate brothers. Upon their arrival to Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis declared that the Tates are “not welcome” in Florida. Missouri Senator Josh Hawley thinks the charges against them are serious and told the Huffington Post, “I don’t think conservatives should be glorifying this guy [Andrew] at all.” Ben Shapiro believes that the Right should “dump” the Tates. Daily Wire co-CEO Jeremy Boreing denounces Andrew Tate as “the enemy of any traditional American conservatism.” To their credit, more and more condemnations are continuing to come from people within the conservative world. But it’s a shame such condemnations are necessary in the first place. It points to a serious problem.
The problem is reflexive, anti-woke tribalism that is unaccountable to any defining values. It privileges the friend/enemy distinction above anything else and readily invites alliances with depraved and terrible individuals. This recent episode with Andrew Tate has demonstrated that for some, character and integrity mean little in the grand scheme of waging war against the “woke.”
But there is no virtue in linking arms with those on the road to destruction. Such a path is unsustainable for the long-term future of American conservatism and for effectively combatting the Left. If the Right should learn anything at all from this moment, it’s that prioritizing political pragmatism at the cost of moral clarity is a dangerous venture. It will lead you to embrace every darkness imaginable.
The stakes are high. The people most harmed by the Andrew Tates of the world will be vulnerable young women and lost young men. Conservatives must unify around something better.