60 Minutes

President Trump is taking the gloves off against his top COVID-19 specialist, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and throwing his expertise out the window ... this after the doc, arguably, went on the attack on "60 Minutes."

POTUS had a press phone conference Monday, and let the insults fly against Fauci ... who he suggested was one of many "idiots" advising the White House and the public on the pandemic. He even said people were tired of hearing the guy ... plain and simple.

Reporters on the call said Trump called each of Dr. Fauci's media appearances a "bomb," but mused that firing him would cause more political fallout ... especially this close to the election. He also sarcastically referred to Fauci as a "wonderful sage" who's been around for "500 years."

Age shade from the 74-year-old.

Trump clearly feels it's time for Fauci to go, as he added ... "People are tired of COVID ... People are tried of hearing Fauci and all these idiots."

There's been tension between Trump and Fauci for months, but as for why Trump's going all out now -- blame it on "60 Minutes," perhaps.

Dr. Fauci did a thorough segment on that show Sunday and touched on a number of things COVID-related -- including a claim the White House had restricted him in recent months from doing more interviews to get the word out about the virus.

Fauci also talked about Trump's positive diagnosis, and how there seemed to be a war on science and authority ... which he implied had been sparked by the President while in office.

The gloves are off.

President Trump's painting featuring him with Grand Old Party presidents set the internet ablaze during his "60 Minutes" interview -- but it also lined the painter's wallet with cash.

During 45's interview Sunday night, a lot of people noticed Trump had hung up a fantasy painting on a wall somewhere in the White House. It shows Trump drinking what appears to be a non-alcoholic beverage with guys like Abraham Lincoln, Richard Nixon, the Bushes, Ronald Reagan, Teddy Roosevelt and other Republican presidents ... who all got booze nearby.

Many art aficionados mocked 45's vanity and called the painting "tacky" and "trashy" -- and also ridiculously and slimmingly flattering. There are, however, fans ... 'cause Missouri-based artist Andy Thomas tells us business has been booming in the 24 hours since his artwork aired on TV.

Andy says he and his wife woke up Monday morning with 25 new orders for prints of his "Republican Club" painting. They typically get only 3 orders a day. He tells us 60 additional orders came rolling in an hour later.

It isn't just the GOP boys getting love -- Andy says prints of another painting he did depicting Obama and famous Democratic presidents have been flying off his digital shelves from his website.

Donald Trump revealed on "60 Minutes" ... he had to mock Dr. Christine Blasey Ford at a Mississippi rally in order to get the necessary votes to put Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court.

It was a stunning revelation ... Lesley Stahl grilled Trump like a cheeseburger over the now infamous campaign rally ... where Trump suggested Dr. Ford was a liar, to the delight of thousands who cackled their approval.

Stahl reminded the Prez Ford had told Senators the worst part of her high school encounter was the laughter by her assailants, and what she heard from the Mississippi crowd was laughter. Watch Trump's reaction to Stahl as he shrugs off the criticism.

Trump confessed, "Had we not made that speech we would not have won." As you know, the margin of victory was razor thin.

Mario Batali is reportedly being investigated by the NYPD for sexual misconduct after a woman came forward on '60 Minutes' to claim he'd sexually assaulted her.

Anderson Cooper spoke to a handful of women Sunday, one of whom anonymously said Batali had possibly drugged and sexually assaulted her in 2005 after waking up at the Spotted Pig with semen on her leg. The woman, who was an employee of his at the time, says she was getting romantic with Batali prior to blacking out the night before.

The woman says she went to the hospital to get a rape kit done, but never filed a police report.

Other women claimed Batali had inappropriately touched them under his employ, and that they'd once seen him sexually assault at least one other woman, who was either unconscious or semi-conscious, at the Spotted Pig. That woman refused to talk to '60 Minutes.'

Batali issued a strong denial to CBS, saying he vehemently denied sexually assaulting the woman who did speak. It's unclear if he was asked about about the alleged second sexual assault, or the alleged inappropriate touching. That said ... he did issue an apology for his behavior last year.

Donald Trump is keeping mum on whether he watched Stormy Daniels' explosive interview ... but he's sure she has no proof to back up her claims.

Trump's Deputy Press Secretary, Raj Shah, got a barrage of questions about Stormy's "60 Minutes" sit-down where she detailed her alleged tryst with Trump, and the overall theme was ... inconsistent. Shah came up with multiple ways to say 45 thinks Stormy is consistently inconsistent about their alleged affair -- including her signing statements denying it outright.

Shah also said the Prez doesn't believe Stormy was threatened in Las Vegas to keep quiet about him ... and especially not by anyone on his behalf. Even further, he insists she has no one to corroborate that bombshell allegation.

Long before he was a $100-million NBA star, Giannis Antetokounmpo says he was just another kid peddling goods on the streets of Athens to help put food on the table.

The Greek Freak spoke candidly about his childhood in poverty Sunday on "60 Minutes" ... describing his daily grind before he found basketball.

"We used to sell glasses, watches, ... CDs, DVDs. I was the best (salesman)," Giannis said. "I didn't give up ... and I was cute, too. I was young."

Giannis' parents left Nigeria for a better life before he was born ... but he says life was tough for them growing up -- all living in the same room and often going hungry.

But Giannis says their struggle could never break his spirit -- and credits that mentality with becoming one of the top ballers in the NBA.

Stormy Daniels is certain Donald Trump, or someone connected to him, had a henchman threaten her life ... and she's going to prove it.

Her attorney, Michael Avenatti, says he doesn't know for sure yet who's behind the 2011 incident in Las Vegas, but Monday on the "Today" show he said there are only 2 logical options -- Trump or his attorney, Michael Cohen. If you missed it ... Stormy claims a man threatened her with physical harm if she didn't back off Trump.

At the same time Avenatti was vowing to put the heat on Trump's camp, Cohen was vowing to empty Stormy's bank account.

His lawyer, David Schwartz, went on 'GMA' to insist Stormy has no credibility ... and also that she's in clear violation of the "hush" agreement she signed.

Stormy Daniels says she and her then-infant daughter were threatened by a strange man who told her to shut her mouth over the story of her alleged affair with Donald Trump.

Daniels sat down with Anderson Cooper on "60 Minutes" and chronicled what she says was a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006 that ultimately resulted in threats and hush money.

Stormy says that after she sat down and dished about Trump with In Touch magazine in 2011, she was approached by a man in a Las Vegas parking lot, whom she says told her to "Leave Trump alone. Forget the story." She also claims he then looked at her daughter and said ... "That's a beautiful little girl. It'd be a shame if something happened to her mom."

She goes on to claim the guy ghosted after that, and she never saw him again. Anderson asks if Stormy took that as a threat, and she says ... "Absolutely." Stormy says she was "rattled" by the alleged encounter, adding that she never went to police over it out of fear.

Stormy Daniels claims she softened up Donald Trump during their second meeting by spanking him ... and then banging him.

The porn star made the explosive allegation Sunday on "60 Minutes" with Anderson Cooper while describing her alleged sexual encounter with the President. She says she met him at his hotel suite for dinner in '06, where she claims she spanked him with his own magazine.

Stormy claims the spanking was all in good fun, and it actually opened Trump up in conversation. She says he then pitched the idea of casting her in "Celebrity Apprentice" over dinner, and that they had consensual sex afterward ... allegedly without a condom.

She makes a point to say she's not a victim, and that her story isn't a #MeToo moment. Stormy also claims Trump brushed off talk of his wife, Melania Trump -- who'd just given birth to Barron -- by saying they stayed in separate rooms, and not to worry about her.

President Trump is ripping Oprah the journalist -- for her report on his first year in office -- but says he's looking forward to defeating Oprah the candidate.

Trump, apparently, changed the channel on his TV Sunday night just long enough to catch Oprah on "60 Minutes" doing a round table discussion with Michigan voters -- pro and anti-Trump. He wasn't impressed, and dismissed Oprah, who he used to know very well, as "insecure" ... and claimed her "questions were biased and slanted."

Trump added he hopes "Oprah runs so she can be exposed and defeated." Guessing he hasn't heard Oprah declare repeatedly that she's NOT running for Prez.

As for Oprah's report ... Trump's supporters definitely had their say. Maybe he didn't watch long enough.

Happy President's Day!

2:56 PM PT -- CBS News has suspended Rose and PBS will halt production and distribution of his show.

Charlie Rose -- one of the most famous journalists in the country -- has just been accused of sexual harassment ... and he's apologizing for the alleged behavior.

The Washington Post published a story Monday in which 8 women accused the reporter of varying types of misconduct -- including groping their breasts, buttocks or genitals, walking around naked in front of them or making lewd phone calls. 5 women stayed anonymous.

The allegations go back as far as the late 1990s up to as recently as 2011. One woman, Kyle Godfrey-Ryan, says Rose would consistently walk around naked in front of her while she was his personal assistant in the 2000s, adding he'd often call to describe fantasies about her.

Rose released a statement to the Post apologizing for the behavior, saying "It is essential that these women know I hear them and that I deeply apologize for my inappropriate behavior. I am greatly embarrassed. I have behaved insensitively at times, and I accept responsibility for that, though I do not believe that all of these allegations are accurate."

Matt Lauer says Oprah joining "60 Minutes" on CBS is great ... for CBS.

We got the NBC "Today" host in NYC Tuesday, where we asked if O joining their rival network was good for competition.

Arnold Schwarzenegger was lying through his gap teeth when he claimed Maria Shriver KNEW he was banging other women during their marriage ... this according to multiple sources connected to Maria.

Arnold fessed up to cheating on Maria multiple times during his interview with "60 Minutes" last night ... saying Maria knew about ALL of his trysts.

But one source close to Maria tells us ... "BULLSH*T" -- saying Maria never would have defended him against all of the groping claims several years ago had she known Arnold was stepping out. The source also says Maria would have ended the marriage had Arnold told her.

Another source tells TMZ ... Maria definitely suspected Arnold was screwing around behind her back ... but it was never discussed until she confronted him about his love child with the maid.

Arnold Schwarzenegger SWEARS the money he religiously paid his baby mama for their secret son was not "hush money."

In an interview for "60 Minutes" on CBS that aired tonight, Arnold refused to answer questions regarding how he found out about Joseph -- the secret son he had with his former housekeeper Mildred Baena.

Arnold says he never had a point-blank conversation with Mildred about Joseph, he just "put things together" and secretly started sending her money.

He then defends her and says,"Mildred is a good person. She was not out to get me or take advantage of me."

Get this ..."60 Minutes" did its interview with Arnold Schwarzenegger without ever contacting Maria Shriver -- to get her take on the things he said in his autobiography ... and she's not happy about it.

Sources very familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... a "60 Minute" producer made calls Monday to friends of Maria -- AFTER Arnold's interview was shot -- to see if she had a general comment about the book ... but the producer never gave specifics about what Arnold said in the interview or the book. We're told the piece was already in the can, and Maria had "no interest" in commenting -- especially because it's ridiculous to wedge a comment of hers in a long piece.

One source says, "The piece is a blow *** for Arnold. Lesley Stahl just fawned over him," adding it was no surprise Maria's point of view was never solicited before Stahl sat down with Arnold.

As we first reported, Arnold never offered an advance copy of the book to Maria. A close friend of hers tells TMZ, "She knows the book is a big PR stunt to get back in the public's good graces."