Politics

Donald Trump is doing what he tends to do best in times of crisis -- hitting the links to blow off some steam ... with this weekend being no different for him amid his criminal case.

The ex-Prez was playing a round Saturday morning at his hotel in Miami ... the Trump National Doral, which has four full-blown golf courses to choose from. Unclear which one DT was on in this instance, but he was out there with some pals ... and his MAGA hat to boot.

Dude looks pretty relaxed ... which makes sense, we suppose. This is sorta his happy place, even during the worst of times -- as we've witnessed throughout these past several years.

The only difference now, of course, is that he's under criminal prosecution by the Manhattan D.A.'s Office on 34 felony counts -- most of which stem from the Stormy Daniels hush money incident ... which law enforcement now alleges was directed to be paid at the behest of DT.

He's looked/sounded defiant in the wake of those charges -- especially when he was in NYC this past week to plead not guilty and get processed by cops ... putting on a brave face.

Here, the Don's more mellow, it seems, and there's another thing to consider with this appearance -- namely, the fact that it's Passover right now for Jewish folks ... and not just that, but his hotel there is actually hosting a whole slate of Passover events this weekend.

Elon Musk appears to be flip-flopping on whether Twitter considers NPR to be state-run media -- although it's unclear if he's gonna take that label off their account.

The Twit-in-Chief was directly asked about this by an NPR reporter this week ... and when he was shown the hard numbers on where NPR gets its funding -- with only 1% of it coming from the U.S. government, and a majority of it coming from donors -- he relented a bit.

According to the journo -- citing an email exchange he says he was having with Musk personally -- EM apparently didn't understand the difference between public media and state-sanctioned media ... and replied, "Well, then we should fix it" as it pertains to NPR's status.

Musk then supposedly asked for the breakdown of their finances, which the reporter says was provided to him ... to which Musk then apparently responded, "The operating principle at new Twitter is simply fair and equal treatment, so if we label non-US accounts as govt, then we should do the same for US, but it sounds like that might not be accurate here."

Earlier in the day, Musk said NPR's new state-affiliated media label --  which Twitter has yet to remove -- seemed "accurate." But now, based on this new reporting, it sounds like he's not sure. Musk reportedly told this reporter Twitter would mull over a final decision.

Of course, NPR is not state-controlled media -- unlike the ones in North Korea, China and Russia ... it's a nonprofit news org that operates independently and has provided accurate reporting for years. In light of Twitter's designation, NPR has stopped tweeting altogether.

The thousands of Californians who've fled to Tennessee, Florida and Texas are having second thoughts ... and many are, as they say, going back to Cali ... so says L.A. real estate mogul Kurt Rappaport.

Kurt joined us Friday on "TMZ Live" to fill us in on the slow reversal of the west coast exodus -- spurred by things like the loss of abortion rights, the "don't say gay" bill, drag show bans and the reheated battle over gun laws.

The celebrity realtor says most who left pointed to rising taxes and cost of living in CA, but now political moves in their new home states are creating deep regrets.

The school shooting in Nashville sparked protests in Tennessee's state capitol, leading to Thursday's astounding expulsion of 2 state legislators -- a move many see as a death knell for democracy.

Kurt admits the Golden State has its issues -- the high taxes are no joke -- but he adds, it's also a big melting pot of cultures, ideas, ethnicities and opinions ... which you won't find in some parts of the country.

A national championship trophy isn't the only shiny, new thing in Angel Reese's life -- the LSU basketball star just copped some new bling -- with over 20 carats of high-quality diamonds!!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the Tigers hooper linked up with celeb jeweler Boo Daddy Diamonds fresh off her NCAA title win over the Iowa Hawkeyes this week.

We're told Bayou Barbie is now the proud owner of several dope pieces ... including an amazing diamond tennis bracelet that's filled with VVS diamonds and 14k white gold.

She also copped two diamond chokers -- one having the initial of her first name -- and we're told the collection totaled out to 20 carats of top-quality bling!

The 6'3" forward deserves to treat herself after the year she just had -- she finished the season with 23 points and 15.4 rebounds per game ... and earned a spot on the First Team All-SEC and SEC's All-Defensive Team.

Reese -- who fractured her foot at Maryland before transferring in 2022 -- also made LSU history with the most consecutive double-doubles ... and leading the women's hoop team to their first NCAA title.

Monica put a damper on her "Goonica" nickname, and a few fans' chances of landing more punches during a fight that erupted at her show.

The star singer was recently in D.C. for the R&B Experience Tour, and was bringing the house down with her hit ballad, "Why I Love You So Much" ... when she noticed the brawl breaking out in the stands right in front of her.

A confused Monica wondered what about her quiet storm classic could prompt people to fight and demanded they stop ... even offering to buy them a drink to cool them off.

“I ain’t singing 'Knuck If You Buck' baby, calm that s*** down,” she told the rowdy bunch, referencing Crime Mob's 2004 fight-starting record.

The bribe didn't seem to work and Monica suggested they take the scuffle outside ... and cleverly dropped her fan-favorite song "So Gone" to celebrate the fans' exit from the venue.

Monica has long been accused of having a thug side ... and did her best to explain the nickname to Stacey Abrams and Ciara last year during election season.

LSU hoops star Angel Reese has decided she will attend the White House visit with her team after all ... days after she contemplated skipping the visit because of remarks made by First Lady Jill Biden.

Remember, Reese took issue with FLOTUS saying Iowa should attend the White House, too -- a tradition usually reserved for championship winners -- calling Jill's suggestion "a joke."

"In the beginning, we were hurt -- it was emotional because we know how hard we worked all year for everything," Reese said Friday.

"You don't get that experience [to go to the White House] ever ... and I know my team probably wants to go for sure, and my coaches are supportive of that, so I'm going to do what's best for the team and we've decided we're going to go."

"I'm a team player. I'm going to do what's best for the team. I'm the captain."

LSU said Thursday they would be "excited" to celebrate the program's first NCAA women's basketball national championship, leaving many to speculate whether Reese would join them.

Donald Trump may be public enemy No.1 in the eyes of some ... but not to Jorge Masvidal -- the UFC star visited the former President at a rally in Florida Tuesday evening hours after 45 was arraigned in NYC.

Masvidal says he was invited to Mar-a-Lago ... the same night Trump returned from the northeast aboard his private jet, where he appeared before a judge in a Manhattan courtroom, pleading not guilty to 34 felony charges.

"I didn't even sneak in here," Masvidal can be heard saying before he enters Trump's event. "This is Trump Nation."

During the packed rally, Trump ripped Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg for what DT says is a politically motivated attack.

“This fake case was brought only to interfere with the upcoming 2024 election and it should be dropped immediately,” Trump told the crowd, which included Jorge.

Of course, the charges relate to a $130k hush money payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels during his first presidential campaign.

DT also sounded off on Judge Juan Merchan, calling him a "Trump-hating judge."

It's unclear if Masvidal got any FaceTime with Trump -- the resort was packed.

The visit shows Jorge is still rockin' with his friend, despite the world's most polarizing man now facing criminal charges ... though it's not really surprising.

Trump and Masvidal have a friendship. Jorge even stumped for the former prez as he ran his re-election campaign in 2020.

Now, the question is, might Donald make an appearance this Saturday in Miami ... where Jorge Masvidal is fighting Gilbert Burns in the co-main event at UFC 287.

LSU will not let a small squabble between its star player and Jill Biden get in the way of a championship party at the White House ... the school just revealed it'd "certainly" accept an invitation despite the tiff.

In fact, according to a university spokesperson, the Tigers would be "excited" to continue the celebration of their women's NCAA tournament title at 1600 Penn Ave. later this year.

Of course, many were wondering if the team would, indeed, go ... after LSU forward Angel Reese said she was peeved over the way Biden invited both the Tigers and Iowa following their championship game on Sunday night.

Reese said on "I Am Athlete" this week that "if the roles were reversed, they wouldn’t be the same. If we were to lose, we would not be getting invited to the White House."

She then insinuated she'd prefer it if she could go party with the Obamas instead." They can have that spotlight," she said of the Hawkeyes. "We'll go to the Obamas'. We'll go see Michelle. We'll see Barack."

Biden had attempted to walk back the double invite, with her press secretary saying Tuesday Biden's comments "were intended to applaud the historic game and all women athletes. She looks forward to celebrating the LSU Tigers on their championship win at the White House."

But, in response, Reese said, "I don't accept the apology because you said what you said .. You can't go back on certain things that you say."

Tennis officials dropped the ball when they failed to ban Russian players after Putin's military invaded Ukraine last year, so says the world's number 1 ranked player, Iga Swiatek.

"I heard that after World War II, German players were not allowed as well as Japanese and Italian, and I feel like this kind of thing would show the Russian government that maybe it's not worth it," 21-year-old Swiatek told the BBC.

Iga believes WTA and ATP officials displayed a "lack of leadership," turning the tour into a "chaotic place."

"I feel like tennis, from the beginning, could do a bit better in showing everybody that tennis players are against the war."

Now, Swiatek feels it's too late to impose a ban, saying ... "now it would be pretty unfair for Russian and Belarusian players to do that because this decision was supposed to be made a year ago."

FYI, in 2022, Wimbledon banned Russian and Belarusian players from playing in the world's top tennis tourney. However, the All England Club lifted the ban ahead of the 2023 tournament, clearing the way for players like Aryna Sabalenka and Daria Kasatkina to compete.

Swiatek, a 3x majors winner, says she's not necessarily angry at the Russian tour players, and even has a lot of respect for some of them.

"I did shake hands, for example, with Daria Kasatkina. She openly said that she's against the war at the beginning and it would be her dream for the war to finish."

Iga continued ... "I really respect that because I feel it's brave for Russian athletes to say that because their situation is pretty complicated and sometimes it's hard for them to speak out loud about it."

Jill Biden needs to apologize to the LSU women's hoops team ASAP ... so says Sherri Shepherd, who tells TMZ Sports the first lady should have never invited Iowa to come along with the champion Tigers for a celebration at the White House.

The television personality made her feelings loud and clear to us about the issue while out in New York City this week ... explaining she thinks Biden only handed out the invite in an effort to earn future votes for Joe Biden.

"You never invite the losing team to the White House," Shepherd said after Jill had opened the White House doors to both LSU and Iowa following their championship game on Sunday night.

"I know you want Iowa to vote for your husband, but stop it!" she added. "Stop it, Dr. Biden."

The topic has been extremely polarizing ever since Jill revealed she'd like to host both teams ... with LSU star Angel Reese laughing off the notion -- and even later saying she's now considering not going for a White House celebration over it all.

"I just know if the roles were reversed, it wouldn't be the same," Reese said on 'I Am Athlete.' "If we were to lose, we would not be getting invited to the White House."

Shepherd clearly believes Reese has every right to be peeved ... agreeing with the Tigers forward and saying, "If it was the other way around, it would never be this situation."

Of course, Biden's Press Secretary tried to apologize for FLOTUS following the backlash ...  saying Jill was simply trying to applaud "how far women have advanced in sports since the passing of Title IX" and "the historic game and all women athletes."

For their part, Iowa said it never received a formal invitation from the Bidens ... and its star guard, Caitlin Clark, seemed to say she wouldn't want to go even if the invite had come.

Donald Trump just can't get enough of himself -- the guy was listening to his own voice featured on a new rendition of our National Anthem ... sung by the Jan. 6 insurrectionists.

The ex-Prez -- who was just rung up on 34 felony counts in NYC Tuesday -- flew back to Mar-a-Lago following his eventful outing in the Big Apple ... where he fired up his supporters with a speech, and engaged in an odd display.

Check out this video, obtained by TMZ, which we're told was recorded not too long after DT's diatribe from the podium -- where he condemned Manhattan's D.A. Alvin Bragg and others involved in his criminal case.

You can see Trump put his hand over his heart along with the rest of the room as they blast "Justice for All" over the speakers -- a song released by a handful of men currently in prison for their participation in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots ... now known as the J6 Choir.

The song is basically them singing the "Star Spangled Banner" interlaced with Trump reciting the Pledge of Allegiance ... which created the awkward sight of Trump standing at attention as he listens to himself.

Patriotic to some, a threat to democracy for others.

The song was put out into the world back in early March and had success on certain charts, believe it or not.

Donald Trump might have had his worst day ever ... but Stormy Daniels had her best day on a popular pornography website.

The good folks over at Pornhub tell TMZ ... Donald's arrest has been a boom for Stormy's adult videos, with searches for her pornos spiking while Trump was getting booked.

We're told Pornhub users searched "Stormy" more than 650,000 times Tuesday ... it's a staggering figure on its own, but when it's compared to her daily search average over the first three months of the year, it works out to a whopping 32,400% increase.

Seems like there's a lot of interest out there as to why Trump allegedly had an affair with her.

Diving deeper into the numbers ... by 1:00 PM ET, as folks were waiting for Trump's motorcade to arrive at Manhattan Criminal Court, Pornhub says "Stormy" searches were six times their normal level ... which usually isn't peak horny hours.

Trump flew back to Mar-a-Lago on his private jet after his first day in court ... but some folks still have "jail" and "prison" on the brain ... Pornhub says searches with those two keywords this week are more popular than normal.

Trump's accused of paying Stormy $130,000 to shut up about the alleged affair. As for how much Stormy is making off the recent spike in her videos ... Pornhub is mum.

Kelsea Ballerini doesn't regret her groundbreaking performance alongside drag queens on national television, and it definitely wasn't a surprise to showrunners ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us ... the backlash Kelsea's getting for Sunday's CMT Music Awards moment -- having four "RuPaul’s Drag Race" queens come on stage during one of her performances -- is falling on deaf ears ... 'cause she doesn't regret it one bit.

We're told Kelsea fully stands by her decision to feature the drag queens ... which some folks in conservative circles have gone ballistic over -- accusing CMT of going woke.

FWIW, the drag queens' appearance was fully planned. Production sources tell TMZ ... both CMT and CBS were extremely supportive of the cameo and knew about it from the get-go ... we're also told they'd been part of rehearsals since Friday.

One of the drag queens, Manila Luzon, says it was actually Kelsea's idea to involve them -- and she did so cause she's an ally. Manila says the drag queens were super happy with how things went and appreciate the network heads for giving them a platform in front of a new type of audience.

ML adds ... country music is moving forward with the rest of the world. The performance was a celebration of love and a celebration of artistry.

Jon Stewart is the guy everyone wants to hear from these days ... what he thinks of the Donald Trump indictment, how it will affect the country and the 2024 presidential election, yada yada yada -- or in this case ... Yoda Yoda Yoda.

Stewart made a surprise appearance on his old stomping grounds, "The Daily Show" ... coming hours after Trump's arrest, you'd think he and guest host Roy Wood Jr. were going to dig into the case -- but Jon's wardrobe stole the show.

He came out dressed as Obi-Wan Kenobi, the wise Jedi master of all things 'Daily Show' ... sent to give Roy some guidance. Well, at least, that was the setup for the bit.

One hilarious moment came as Jon reminded Roy he once hosted the show ... to which Roy replied, "The Daily Show" had a white host? Why are you dressed like Obi-Wan Kenobi?"

Now, you knew Trump had to eventually come up, and he did, but it wasn't about his arrest. You just gotta see it, but it involved Jon -- in his Obi-Wan robe -- and Trump playing the role of Vader.

They went back and forth about who was playing which "Star Wars" character ... and THEN Stewart finally attempted to make a point about the Trump indictment.

It didn't go smoothly, but it was funny as hell.

Donald Trump certainly enjoyed the support of some of his family during his big speech Tuesday night following his historic criminal arraignment -- but there was one very important person missing in action: his wife, Melania.

Indeed, Melania was noticeably absent from the mob of supporters who crowded into Mar-a-Lago to listen to the former president rail against the justice system hours after he was arraigned in a Manhattan courtroom.

Three of his five children -- Eric, Don Jr. and Tiffany -- showed up for Trump's defiant speech in which he blasted Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg who charged him with 34 felonies and attacked Judge Juan Merchan who presided over his arraignment.

Trump's two other children -- Ivanka and Barron -- were no-shows. According to the NY Post, Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, were celebrating Passover in Wyoming.

It's not clear why Barron wasn't there, but he's rarely seen at these events because Melania has shielded him from the spotlight over the years.

Melania's absence, though, caught the eye of many observers who wondered why she wasn't present to support her husband after what may be the worst day of his life.

It seemed even more mystifying considering that Melania was at Trump's side during a dinner last Thursday after a Manhattan grand jury had indicted him on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

During Tuesday's arraignment, Judge Merchan threatened to impose a gag order if Trump didn't stop all of his vitriol over the case.

But, as in true Trump fashion, the words went in one ear and out the other. He attacked the D.A., the judge, the judge's wife and his daughter.

The judge warned Donald Trump if he continued attacking individuals and institutions a gag order might be in order ... well Tuesday night, Trump gave that judge the middle finger.

The former President reacted to his historic indictment with a vengeful speech at Mar-a-Lago ... railing on not only the lead prosecutor, Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg, but also the judge who fired off the gag order warning.

Trump took shots at Bragg throughout his address ... calling on Bragg to resign and accusing Bragg of leaking grand jury info. Trump says it's Bragg who should be facing prosecution, not him, and he says the indictment is light on specifics and Bragg has absolutely no case.

As for the judge, Juan Merchan, well, Trump went after him too ... and the judge's family ... something Trump's son did earlier on social media.

Trump called out Merchan as a "Trump-hating judge" who has it out for him ... and he blasted the judge's wife and fam, even going after the judge's daughter for working with the Kamala Harris campaign.

The evening's tone was set from the moment Trump arrived in the room ... walking out to "Rebel Rebel." He shook hands with supporters as he approached the dais, then started venting.

Outside Mar-a-Lago, throngs of Trump fans lined the streets ... waving flags and showing him love. Inside, his fans booed and cheered, depending on the subject.

When Trump wasn't going nuclear on the judge or prosecution, he was patting himself on the back for his time in office and, naturally, dragging Joe Biden.

As you know ... Trump was in New York City earlier Tuesday, showing up at a Manhattan courthouse to turn himself in to the NYPD. He was fingerprinted and ultimately pled not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

After he was done in court, Trump left in his motorcade for the airport ... hopping in his private jet and flying back down to Florida.