☕ Why the Tate brothers are back

It’s Friday.

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit the White House today for talks over the future of his nation’s conflict with Russia, and a minerals deal to be signed with President Trump. Yesterday, the UK PM was in town for a visit. DC is a popular place to be if you’re a world leader, it seems!

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Some headlines from this morning:

The US military will discharge transgender troops unless they are exempted for “compelling” reasons, as directed by a memo written by Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth. An LGBTQI+ advocacy group released the memo, obtained in the court of a lawsuit against an earlier executive order which banned transgender people from joining the military. The earlier executive order stated transgender troops did not meet the high standards expected of US military personnel but would be “treated with dignity and respect”. The memo says the secretaries of each branch of the military must identify trans service members within 30 days, and have them dismissed within a 30 day period after that.

25% tariffs will be imposed on Canada and Mexico next Tuesday, but Canadian gas and oil will only be tariffed at 10%. The President said the countries failed to do enough to prevent the flow of fentanyl into the US since he delayed the tariffs last month. Mexico are hopeful a deal can be reached, whilst Canada imposed retaliatory tariffs on $30 billion of US products to be increased to $125 billion soon after. Meanwhile, a 10% tariff on Chinese goods has also been doubled.

Employees of the US Agency for Foreign Aid (USAID), who were placed on leave in January, were asked to clear their desks after over 90% of the agency's contracts were cancelled on Thursday. The contracts, which funded life saving aid around the world, were voided when a 90-day review of the agency's funding was expedited after the Supreme Court temporarily allowed the freeze on funding to continue on Wednesday. The workers have not been able to access the headquarters since January when President Trump paused all USAID funding for 90 days whilst the review was being carried out.

Legendary actor Gene Hackman has been found dead alongside his wife, Betsy Arakawa, and their dog at their home in New Mexico. Hackman, 95, was a two-time Oscar winner who appeared in three Superman films, Bonnie and Clyde, The French Connection and Unforgiven. Authorities are investigating the cause of death for both Hackman and Arakawa, but said they do not suspect any foul play. The couple had been rarely seen in public since Hackman retired from acting about 20 years ago.

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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has met with President Trump in Washington, after the Trump administration redefined an 80 year US-Europe relationship earlier this month, putting distance between the two countries. Here’s an update.

Why are foreign leaders coming to the White House?

Recent meetings between foreign leaders and President Trump have attracted a lot of attention.

Foreign leaders travelling to the White House after a new president is inaugurated is a common occurrence and an important diplomatic tool, it shows a country’s leader is getting along with the US.

What did they talk about?

President Trump praised Keir Starmer’s recent increase of the UK defense budget, whilst Starmer said only President Trump could have laid the foundation for a Russia-Ukraine peace deal.

The two butted heads when the UK PM said a peace-deal would only stick if US Security guarantees were included, President Trump did not agree, saying Putin would honor any peace deal.

PM Starmer signalled earlier this month that he would be willing to send UK troops in a peacekeeping capacity to the Ukraine if a peace deal was reached with Russia. Asked if the US would come to the UK’s aid if Russia attacked these troops, President Trump asked the PM if British troops could look after themselves.

How did it finish?

President Trump was hopeful a UK-US trade deal could be reached which would exempt the UK from 25% tariffs he said he would impose on Europe.

Both leaders were hopeful regarding a Russia-Ukraine peace deal and President Trump appeared to walk back some Russia sympathies, denying he called the Ukrainian President a dictator last week.

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Internet personalities Andrew and Tristian Tate arrived in Florida on Thursday after travel restrictions were lifted by Romanian prosecutors. The brothers face criminal and civil charges in the US, UK and Romania. Their arrival in the US has spurred suspicions of Trump administration involvement in the case.

Who are the Tate brothers?

Andrew Tate rose to prominence as a self-proclaimed misogynist amassing millions of social media followers after a career in kickboxing and featuring on UK reality TV show Big Brother. His brother, Tristan, followed in his brother’s wake. They are both supporters of President Trump.

What are they accused of?

The Tate brothers face criminal allegations of human trafficking, trafficking minors, organising a criminal group, rape, and sexual exploitation.

In December 2022, the Tates were arrested in Romania. They were formally charged with sex trafficking in June 2023, and accused of forming an organised crime group aimed at the sexual exploitation of women.

In December 2024, a court found the pair hadn’t paid taxes on around $21 million of earnings.

Tate and his brother have also been charged with sexual aggression in the UK, where they will face court after the Romanian proceedings wrap up.

Another human trafficking investigation involving the Tates was launched in August.

The Tate brothers have denied all the allegations against them.

Why are they in the US?

Earlier this year a Romanian court released the Tate brothers from house arrest and relaxed travel restrictions on the pair this week.

Their lawyer said: "They feel secure in America for several reasons, the primary one being that Donald Trump is the president"

The Romanian Foreign minister reported that at the Munich Security Conference he was approached by a Trump administration official who sought to discuss the brothers. The official has said the discussion was informal and President Trump denied all prior knowledge the pair were arriving in the US.

What’s next?

Romanian prosecutors expect the brothers to return to Romania in late march and regular contact with the pair is a condition of these freedoms. 

A top Romanian politician has called for the resignation of the head of Romania’s organised crime division who approved the lifting of the travel ban. 

Both the UK and Romania have extradition treaties with the US, if the brothers refuse to leave the country these treaties will be tested.