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‘What the Hell Is This?’: GOP Group’s Andrew Tate Invitation Draws Bipartisan Outrage

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A Florida Republican group is facing backlash after extending a formal invitation to Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan, who arrived in Florida on Thursday from Romania. The accused human traffickers were reportedly granted travel clearance following intervention from high-ranking Trump administration officials who “took an interest in their case.”

38-year old Andrew Tate, along with Tristan, 36, are under investigation in both Romania and the UK.

According to the BBC, they were first arrested in Romania in 2022, where they “face trial on allegations of rape, trafficking minors and money laundering, all of which they deny.” They are also, BBC reported separately, “facing separate, unrelated charges of rape and human trafficking in the UK.”

The Tates are “vocal supporters” of President Donald Trump, “have a large US following and are popular figures among some elements of the American right.” Andrew Tate has been called a self-professed misogynist influencer.

READ MORE: ‘Did I Say That? I Can’t Believe I Said That’: Trump’s Remarks Again Fuel Memory Questions

President Trump’s special envoy Richard Grenell, “raised the Tate brothers with Romania’s Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu at the Munich Security Conference,” BBC notes. “Hurezeanu said he had not considered Grenell’s approach as a ‘form of pressure.’ Grenell told the Financial Times his support for the brothers was evident.”

On Thursday, Vox reported on the “intra-MAGA fight playing out right now over Andrew Tate,” and explained that “Tate became a far-right podcasting star in the 2020s with his explicitly sexist philosophy of masculinity. He quickly gained a wide following among both young men specifically, and several prominent MAGA figures, including Trump’s own former personal attorney and current adviser Alina Habba, Elon Musk, and Donald Trump Jr.”

Indeed, last month Tate appeared on “The Benny Show,” with guest Alina Habba, formerly President Donald Trump’s personal attorney and now Counselor to the President.

“I’m a big fan,” Habba told Tate, as Mediaite reported.

READ MORE: Trump’s DHS Can Now Spy More Easily on LGBTQ Americans

“I think that your anger is the same that President Trump has for our country and the time is now for us to stop being wimps. I think that’s exactly the right sentiment. And I also have to say that I sympathize with you because I think you go through a lot of the same show me the person, I’ll find the crime that President Trump has gone through.”

Currently pinned to the top of the Tampa Bay Young Republicans’ page on the social media site X is their invitation to the Tate brothers.

Bipartisan condemnation against the Tampa Bay Young Republicans came quickly.

“They BRAGGED about their abuse of women. On VIDEO. What the hell has happened to the Republican Party?” asked former Republican Ron Filipkowski, now the editor-in-chief of MeidasTouch.

Well-known veteran journalist Charlie Sykes, the former Bulwark editor-in-chief, remarked, “Florida YRs embrace sex traffickers.. because of course.”

Mediaite contributing editor Sarah Rumpf commented, “Tampa Bay YRs endorsing abusing women and sex trafficking. Take note, YR women. The Tates’ criminal cases in multiple countries are still pending, but what they’ve admitted — bragged about! — is enough to make the moral decision clear here.”

CNN’s S.E. Cupp, a Republican, wrote: “YRs…I know it seems that way, but you don’t HAVE to embrace every evil asshole just to ‘own the libs.'”

Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis said the Tate brothers are not welcome in his state. His communications director, Bryan Griffin, separately wrote: “It’s not a matter of speech. It’s a matter of conduct. Conservatism is not impartial to morality. In fact, the right must become more selective about the people we amplify. This is a different situation from the smear campaigns of the left. Their admissions alone are repugnant.”

“Wrong move,” remarked Florida State Senator and former Florida Republican Party Chair Blaise Ingoglia. “You can believe in free speech and still not give women-abusing scumbags a platform.”

One of the sharpest criticisms came from Rafael E. Struve, the Director of Communications at Bienvenido, which he describes as “a national political organization that specializes in mobilizing Hispanic conservative voters” to elect Republicans.

“As a former YR club chair,” Struve wrote, “I get it—any press is good press, and controversy’s a cheap thrill. I’ve seen some dumb moves for clicks, but come on Tampa Bay…what the hell is this? You’re rolling out the red carpet for a pair of self-styled pimps and predators, calling it ‘free speech’ as if you’re some sort of First Amendment heroes? These creeps are on record bragging about pimping out and battering women, and you’re still handing them a mic—and then you have the gall to compare them to President Trump?”

“I’m trying to understand what broke in your heads to greenlight this,” he continued. “Platforming trafficking suspects and porn peddlers doesn’t make you free speech rebels—it makes you look desperate and dumb. Dragging President Trump into this, as if his fight’s anything like their circus, is especially insulting. You’re better than this—for your club’s sake, I genuinely hope you’ll ditch the graphic, delete the post, and figure out why you thought this was a win.”

Watch the video above or at this link.

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Stephen Miller’s Latest Rant Prompts Priest to Cite Goebbels Propaganda

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Stephen Miller’s latest anti-immigrant rant is drawing attention, including from a well-known Catholic Jesuit priest, who appeared to liken the White House Deputy Chief of Staff’s remarks to those made by Hitler’s notorious Reich Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, in 1941.

Miller, one of the most powerful members of the Trump administration, is seen as the principal architect of the President’s anti-immigration and deportation policies.

“U.S. Marines on the streets of Los Angeles. Masked immigration officers at courthouses and popular restaurants. Bans on travelers from more than a dozen countries,” Reuters reported on Friday. “For senior White House aide Stephen Miller, the architect of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, things were going according to plan.”

READ MORE: ‘Dumb-Dumb’: Fox News Host Declares Rising Democrat a ‘Mental Deficient’ Amid Senate Buzz

Denouncing the city government of Los Angeles as “waging a campaign of insurrection against the federal government,” Miller on Friday painted a scenario without undocumented immigrants in remarks made to Fox News.

“Let’s be very clear,” he said. “What would Los Angeles look like without illegal aliens?”

“Here’s what it would look like: You would be able to see a doctor in the emergency room right away, no wait time, no problem. Your kids would go to a public school that had more money than they know what to do with. Classrooms would be half the size. Students who had special needs would get all the attention that they needed.”

“There would be no violent transnational gangs. There would be no cartels. There would be no Mexican Mafia. There would be no Sureños. There would be no MS-13 There would be no TdA.”

“You would be living in a city that would be safe, that would be clean, there would be no fentanyl, there would be no drug dens,” he alleged. “That could be the future Los Angeles could have, but the leaders in Los Angeles have formed an alliance with the cartels and their criminal aliens.”

READ MORE: Record Majority of Americans Support Immigration in Massive Blow to Trump Agenda

Some of Miller’s claims are incorrect. For example, public schools often receive state funding in part based on the number of students and their attendance rate. Fewer students in classrooms means fewer dollars. And federal funding is tied to the number of low-income students and students with disabilities.

Miller’s claims about fentanyl and “drug dens” also don’t hold up. Most fentanyl comes into the U.S. via U.S. citizens, according to the Cato Institute.

Father James Martin, editor-at-large for America Magazine, which is published by the Jesuits, responded to Miller’s remarks by posting a quote from Goebbels:

“The enemy is in our midst. What makes more sense than to at least make this plainly visible to our citizens?”

It’s not the first time Father Martin has responded to Miller’s anti-immigrant rants with a quote.

In April, he quoted the Bible:

“‘I was a stranger and you did not welcome me’ (Matthew 25).”

See Martin’s post and video of Miller’s remarks below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Racial Profiling’: Border Czar Blasted for Claim ICE Can Detain for ‘Personal Appearance’

 

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Record Majority of Americans Support Immigration in Massive Blow to Trump Agenda

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A record-high majority—nearly eight in ten Americans—now view immigration positively, with similarly strong support for a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants—particularly those brought to the U.S. as children. The Gallup poll also found that most Americans favor maintaining or increasing current immigration levels.

Meanwhile, large segments of the public oppose expanding the number of immigration enforcement agents—a cornerstone of President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda. Overall, just 35% of Americans approve of Trump’s immigration policies, while 65% disapprove.

Gallup’s report deals a major blow to the very core of President Donald Trump’s agenda, and his “One Big, Beautiful Bill” that dramatically increases spending on immigration enforcement, including detention camps, deportations, and removal, even to third-party countries.

RELATED: ‘Racial Profiling’: Border Czar Blasted for Claim ICE Can Detain for ‘Personal Appearance’

“Americans have grown markedly more positive toward immigration over the past year, with the share wanting immigration reduced dropping from 55% in 2024 to 30% today,” Gallup reported on Friday. “At the same time, a record-high 79% of U.S. adults say immigration is a good thing for the country.”

“These shifts reverse a four-year trend of rising concern about immigration that began in 2021 and reflect changes among all major party groups,” the top-rated pollster also reported.

Now, just 38% of Americans support deporting all undocumented immigrants, in vast contrast to the stated Trump agenda. That’s down from 47% last year.

In what could be seen as a warning to the GOP, Gallup notes that “the desire for less immigration has fallen among all party groups, but it is most pronounced among Republicans, down 40 percentage points over the past year to 48%.”

Just this week, several top Trump administration officials have continued to promote his anti-immigrant policies.

READ MORE: ‘Dumb-Dumb’: Fox News Host Declares Rising Democrat a ‘Mental Deficient’ Amid Senate Buzz

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins this week told reporters there will be “no amnesty” for undocumented farm workers while insisting adults on Medicaid could replace them.

“There will be no amnesty, the mass deportations continue, but in a strategic way, and we move the workforce towards automation and 100% American participation,” Secretary Rollins said.

Republican Senators have been promoting the Trump anti-immigrant agenda as well. On Thursday, U.S. Senator Ashley Moody (R-FL) called Democrats who oppose the often warrantless raids and tactics used by the DHS’s frequently masked ICE agents, “ignorant pawns of a subversive anarchist agenda.”

President Donald Trump’s and the Republican Party’s budget, which Trump signed into law last weekend, is tremendously unpopular, including his exponential expansion of immigration enforcement budgets, as well as aspects that gut vital social safety net programs like Medicaid and Medicare.

Critics praised Gallup’s findings.

“Nativism had its 6 months and now it’s clear that it’s not the answer,” wrote Cato Institute Director of Immigration Studies David J. Bier.

NBC News senior national political reporter Sahil Kapur, pointing to the Gallup statistics, called it “backlash politics.”

“Turns out, mass kidnappings and deportations are deeply unpopular when put into practice,” observed New York State Democratic Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher.

See the social media post above or at this link.

READ MORE: Luxury Air Force One, Rose Garden Reno? ‘Priorities’ Says Trump Budget Chief

 

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‘Racial Profiling’: Border Czar Blasted for Claim ICE Can Detain for ‘Personal Appearance’

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President Donald Trump’s hand-picked border czar, Tom Homan, is facing backlash from legal and political experts after asserting that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents do not need “probable cause” to detain individuals—and can do so based on factors like “personal appearance.”

“Look, people need to understand,” Homan told Fox News on Friday. ICE officers “don’t need probable cause to walk up to somebody, briefly detain and question them.”

“They just need to tally the circumstances, right?” he claimed. “They just go through their observation, you know, get out typical facts based on the location, the occupation, their physical appearance, their actions.”

“A uniformed border police officer walks up to them, for instance, at a Home Depot. And they got all these … facts, plus the person walks away or runs away,” Homan said, offering one scenario. “Agents are trained. What they need to detain somebody temporarily and question them.”

READ MORE: ‘Dumb-Dumb’: Fox News Host Declares Rising Democrat a ‘Mental Deficient’ Amid Senate Buzz

“It’s not probable cause,” he insisted. “It’s reasonable suspicion.”

“We’re trained on that. Every agent, every six months, gets Fourth Amendment training over and over again,” Homan said.

Legal experts blasted Homan’s remarks.

Professor of Law, former U.S. Attorney and MSNBC/NBC News legal analyst Joyce Vance summed up Homan’s remarks: “Racial profiling.”

“This is patently false,” declared U.S. Rep. Daniel Goldman (D-NY), also an attorney, “DHS has authority to question and search people coming into the country at points of entry. But ICE may not detain and question anyone without reasonable suspicion — and certainly not based on their physical appearance alone. This lawlessness must stop.”

Attorney and California Democratic state Senator Scott Wiener charged, “This is literally the definition of a white nationalist police state.”

U.S. Rep. Yvette Clark (D-NY) warned, “Trump’s thugs will racially profile you, then go on national television to brag about getting away with it.”

READ MORE: Luxury Air Force One, Rose Garden Reno? ‘Priorities’ Says Trump Budget Chief

Attorney and CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Evan Gold explained, “Walking up to people (without threatening) is legal. But ‘detaining’ people without ‘reasonable suspicion’ of criminal or quasi-criminal activity is illegal. Racial profiling is not cause for the required reasonable suspicion. ‘Let me see your papers’ is un-American.”

U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), who, in a highly-publicized incident was forcibly removed and handcuffed by federal agents at a DHS press conference, wrote: “And there you have it. Under the Trump Administration, ICE and Border Patrol are being empowered to stop and question you based solely on how you look. No probable cause. No real reason. Just your ‘physical appearance.’ That’s not justice—it’s profiling.”

“They’re saying the quiet part out loud now,” wrote New York Democratic State Senator Gustavo Rivera. “Don’t get it twisted: if we let them keep doing this, they’ll find a reason to come for ANY ONE OF US soon enough.”

“THEY ARE ADMITTING IT,” wrote David J. Bier, Cato Institute Director of Immigration Studies and an expert on legal immigration, border security, and interior enforcement. “Homan is admitting to participating in a criminal conspiracy against the Constitution of the United States,” he alleged.

Max Flugrath, communications director for Fair Fight Action, wrote: “Trump’s Border Czar and Project 2025 contributor says ICE can detain anyone based on ‘suspicion’ and physical ‘appearance.’ That’s not immigration policy, it’s fascism.”

Watch the video below or at this link:

READ MORE: Trump Dodges, Denies and Deflects Questions as Ukraine Weapons Scandal Grows

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