FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) 鈥� Andrew Tate said he was disappointed in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday while speaking on a podcast several days after he and his brother, Tristan, who are in Romania, returned to the U.S.
Andrew Tate appeared on the , hosted by Patrick Bet-David, and said likely caved to media pressure last week when he told reporters that the Tates weren't welcome in Florida, after they landed in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday. DeSantis said Florida鈥檚 attorney general was examining whether the state may have any jurisdiction over the brothers鈥� alleged crimes, and if so, how to hold them accountable. In court documents, the Tates have said they are not and have never been Florida residents.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know why Ron鈥檚 answer wasn鈥檛, 鈥楬e has an American passport. The judicial system in Romania, which I know absolutely nothing about, decided to let him fly, and he鈥檚 flown to his home country. As far as we鈥檙e concerned, he鈥檚 broken no laws,鈥�" Tate said. 鈥淚nstead, what he did was say: 'We鈥檙e going to get our attorney general to try and find some laws he鈥檚 broken and wreck this man who鈥檚 done nothing inside of the United States ever.'"
In contrast, Tate described U.S. President Donald Trump as 鈥渟uch a boss鈥� in his response to reporters about the . A reporter asked Trump if his administration had pressured the Romanian government to release the brothers, and Trump said, 鈥淚 know nothing about that.鈥�
, 38, is a former professional kickboxer and self-described misogynist who has amassed more than 10 million followers on the social platform X. He and his brother Tristan Tate, 36, are vocal supporters of Trump.
Andrew reiterated on Monday that he has not been convicted of any crimes.
鈥淚sn鈥檛 the whole point of democracy, innocent until proven guilty?鈥� Tate said. 鈥淚鈥檝e yet to even have a trial, let alone a conviction. I鈥檝e never even been tried after three years. I鈥檝e never been to trial.鈥�
Andrew Tate is a , attracting millions of followers, many of them young men and schoolchildren drawn in by the luxurious lifestyle the influencer projects online.
He previously was banned from TikTok, YouTube and Facebook for hate speech and his misogynistic comments, including that women should bear responsibility for getting sexually assaulted.
The Tates, who are dual U.S.-British citizens, were arrested in late 2022 and 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.
The Tates鈥� departure came after Romanian Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu said this month that a Trump administration official expressed interest in the brothers鈥� case at the recent Munich Security Conference.
Just weeks ago, Andrew Tate posted on X: 鈥淭he Tates will be free, Trump is the president. The good old days are back. And they will be better than ever. Hold on.鈥�
The DeSantis' office didn't immediately reply to an email seeking comment about Monday's podcast with Tate.
The Associated Press
