Politics

Cheryl Hines fears for her husband Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s safety while he's on the presidential campaign trail -- and she's imploring President Biden to make an exception and grant him Secret Service protection right away.

The actress and comedian was at LAX Thursday when she was asked about campaign safety because RFK Jr. is a Democratic candidate for president ... and, of course, due to his family's tragic history.

Cheryl says "great measures" are being taken to protect Kennedy, but says what they really wanted is the Secret Service -- but she points out RFK Jr.'s request has already been denied ... which she finds very odd.

As you know, Robert was only 9 years old when his uncle, former President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated in 1963, and 5 years later, his father, Robert F. Kennedy, was shot and killed in L.A. while running for president.

Cheryl says she knows it's unusual for candidates to be assigned a Secret Service detail so early in the campaign, but says if ever there were a need for an exception ... RFK Jr. would be it, and she's asking Biden to reconsider their request.

Vivek Ramaswamy channeled his inner Donald Trump and became the breakout star of the first 2024 Republican presidential primary debate in Wisconsin Wednesday night, at least according to a new poll.

The biotech businessman went toe-to-toe with his fellow conservative candidates onstage at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee -- and emerged victorious with a 28 percent approval rating from voters in the Daily Mail poll.

Ron DeSantis slid into the second spot with 27 percent approval. Former Vice President Mike Pence came in third with 13 percent. The other candidates -- Tim Scott, Nikki Haley, Chris Christie, Doug Burgum, Asa Hutchinson -- all polled in the single digits.

Of course, Trump was nowhere to be found because he's, by far, the Republican frontrunner, electing instead to do an interview with Tucker Carlson that aired on X, formerly known as Twitter.

During the two-hour debate, Vivek was thrust into the spotlight during several heated exchanges with his rivals, especially Christie, who compared him to "ChatGPT" -- a form of Artificial Intelligence technology that allows you to have human-like conversations and more with a chatbot.

Vivek also stirred controversy when he was the only candidate to raise his hand after being asked if they would not support an increase in funding for the war in Ukraine.

At one point, the conversation turned to climate change and Vivek labeled it a hoax, prompting boos from the crowd.

He was also quick to put up his arm when asked about whether the candidates would support Trump if he were convicted in any of his four criminal cases.

Tan Mom Patricia Krentcil's run for the U.S. Senate is all about fixing healthcare, fighting for drag queens and, in general, having compassion for your fellow Americans ... principles she's laying out in her first campaign ad.

In the video, obtained by TMZ, Patricia lets Florida voters know she's changed a lot over the past decade, much like the rest of the country ... and says losing her husband to cancer and being in a medically induced coma opened her eyes to the Medicare and Medicaid struggles of millions of Americans.

On top of that, Patricia says she knows what it's like to look different -- saying drag queens shouldn't be targeted and harassed for being who they are.

She goes on to add they can be amazing role models for kids ... a pretty unique platform for any GOP candidate, these days.

As a mother of 5 kids growing up in a divided country, Patricia thinks she's more than qualified to tackle the nation's hot-button issues.

While Patricia's running as a Republican with views far left of most Republicans -- she joined us last week on "TMZ Live" to fill us in on her reasoning for choosing that party.

Rudy Giuliani's mug shot is in, and he certainly doesn't look like a happy camper after surrendering himself for Donald Trump's RICO case.

Giuliani gave the Fulton County camera the disapproving look Wednesday after he and fellow former election lawyer Sidney Powell walked into county jail for one of Trump's ongoing investigations.

RG agreed to a $150k bond, and Powell's was set at $100k. For those unaware, Giuliani's charged with things like engaging in criminal conspiracies and breaking Georgia's racketeering act -- Powell's facing similar charges.

He gave his thoughts about agreeing to work with Trump years ago, especially in hindsight ... but he seems to have no problems with the connection they share.

As we reported, Trump said on Truth Social he will be turning himself in to Fulton County officials on Thursday -- the day after Giuliani and Powell. The announcement follows last week's indictment on 13 counts of 2020 election subversion under GA's Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO.

Apart from Trump, 18 other defendants have been named in the latest case, with Giuliani and Powell being 2 of many ... also facing charges is the ex-president's former Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows.

Maui resident and former TV host Peter O'Riordan lost his home, car and belongings in the deadly wildfire, and says President Biden's visit is doing little to raise hope for victims like himself.

Peter, a former TMZ staffer who went on to host an Irish TV show before moving to Lahaina, joined us on Tuesday on "TMZ Live" ... revealing the devastating details of what's happened to his family and countless others just like him.

He says he's lost everything in the blaze, and its aftermath is wreaking havoc on his children's lives ... as they've been uprooted from their home, and have school left to attend.

Peter says his crying children were told to grab what they could, and flee for their lives as the fire advanced -- and it's that kind of lasting trauma that's so negatively impacting all kids in the Lahaina area.

As a business owner who relies on tourism, Peter says folks on Maui are super worried about the future and their island's economy ... and they don't feel like the federal government is a reliable source of help.

POTUS was met with jeers, and even outright chants of "f***k you" and residents flipping the bird, during his Monday tour of the devastation.

Peter tells us the President's delayed visit -- coming 13 days after the fire -- already pissed off many residents, but he added that Biden made it worse when he said "no comment" to a question about the federal government's reaction.

With Peter's home and belongings reduced to a pile of ash, he's crowdfunding for his snorkel biz, Sea Maui, and he's reminding tourists that most of Maui is open for business.

While they desperately need tourism dollars, he's also asking visitors to be respectful of what locals are going through right now.

Peter's also working with the Maui Pono Foundation and Lahaina Restoration Foundation to help rebuild homes and businesses.

Donald Trump says he's surrendering to Georgia authorities Thursday while taking aim at the District Attorney prosecuting him ... after she charged him with racketeering for allegedly subverting the 2020 election.

The 45th President made the announcement on Truth Social Monday night and, in doing so, peppered Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis with insults dripping with sarcasm.

DT said, "The failed District Attorney of Fulton County (Atlanta), Fani Willis, insisted on a $200,000 Bond from me. I assume, therefore, that she thought I was a "flight" risk - I'd fly far away, maybe to Russia, Russia, Russia, share a gold domed suite with Vladimir, never to be seen or heard from again."

Trump also pointed out he's too famous to run away and hide, citing his huge TRUMP-labeled jet as an example. DT ended his diatribe with the usual gripes about witch hunts and radical left D.A.s.

Trump's also been ordered not to intimidate witnesses and others connected to the case, including the D.A. and other law enforcement. This could be dangerous territory for Trump who finds it irresistible to attack his foes.

Trump may have picked Thursday because the surrender would come hours after the first Republican debate -- from which he will be absent -- thus hijacking the headlines.

As we reported, Trump was criminally indicted last week by a Fulton County grand jury on 13 counts of 2020 election subversion under Georgia's Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, also known as RICO.

Eighteen other defendants were also charged in the sprawling case, including DT's former attorney Rudy Giuliani and Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.

Trump has also been indicted in three other jurisdictions for alleged federal and state crimes involving the January 6th riots, mishandling classified documents and making a $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.

Despite all his legal woes, Trump is still the Republican frontrunner in the 2024 presidential race and the likely nominee for his party, at least for now according to most polls.

We'll have to see if that changes considering his 4 indictments.

Joe Biden was slammed by angry Hawaiians who gave him the middle finger -- and a piece of their minds -- after he touched down in the island state to assess the damage caused by the deadliest wildfires in modern American history.

The 46th President flew into Lahaina, Hawaii, with First Lady Jill Biden on Air Force One Monday and were greeted by residents pissed off about Joe's response -- or lack thereof -- to the disaster that has so far killed a staggering 114 people with an estimated 1,000 more still missing.

Check out the footage ... survivors are standing on the side of the road flipping Joe the bird as his motorcade passes by, while spitting out, "Thanks for nothing" and "F**k you."

Other images show locals giving Joe the thumbs down while holding signs demanding relief for Lahaina -- which was hardest hit by the wildfires.

Of course, Biden is getting all this criticism because many believe he dropped the ball with his slow response to the tragedy. Biden barely made a peep about it for days after the fires erupted August 8, and he even went on vacation during the whole catastrophe. An official cause has not yet been disclosed.

Now, it appears Biden is trying to make up for it by touring the region, giving a speech about the devastation and offering millions in federal aid to those impacted. The White House has also defended Joe, describing his efforts as "robust" with a "whole-of-government response."

Sen. Ted Cruz fell victim to a seemingly obvious social media hoax during Hurricane Hilary ... because he truly believed there was a shark swimming through Los Angeles' flooded streets.

The U.S. Senator from Texas quote tweeted an image of a shark cruising through what seemed like a flooded L.A. freeway, and added his own technical assessment ... "Holy crap."

Well, good ol' Ted took the bait, hook, line, and sinker ... he'd reposted a Tweet from Barstool's Dan Katz, who claimed the shark photo was taken by a friend of his driving along L.A.'s 405 freeway.

Problem is ... the image is actually edited, and it's popped up a bunch over the past decade, usually when hurricanes hit the U.S. -- with the initial posting coming back in 2011 when Hurricane Irene slammed Puerto Rico.

Ted spends a lot of time on Elon Musk's app and the shark post went viral Sunday as the storm was dumping tons of water on California, but Ted somehow missed the community note giving context.

Interestingly, the shark photo also went viral during hurricanes in Ted's home state.

Ultimately, Ted realized he had been duped ... though he seemingly explained his thought process by saying, "In LA, you never know ..."

Giannis Antetokounmpo has already made a ton of money in the NBA, but he's looking to rake in even more in retirement ... telling TMZ Sports he wants to take his talents to Saudi Arabia.

It's becoming quite the trend in sports ... with soccer and golf stars getting massive checks made out to them to play in the Middle Eastern country -- like Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo and all the LIV Golf guys.

Giannis has cracked jokes in the past after seeing the offers being thrown at the biggest names in sports ... so when we caught up with him in L.A. this week, we asked if he was really down to suit up in Saudi Arabia after his NBA days.

"Of course," the 28-year-old said with a smile on his face.

"If the NBA worked out, maybe like a trade between the NBA and Saudi Arabia League, I'm there!" the champ said ... although it's unclear if he meant suiting up for a hoops team, or alongside his buddy Neymar on the soccer pitch.

Giannis isn't the only NBA superstar who likes the idea -- after French soccer star Kylian Mbappe was offered $776 million to play for Al-Hilal, LeBron James tweeted he was also heading to Saudi Arabia.

While it may all be in good fun, many see a serious issue with players going to Saudi Arabia for a big payday ... considering the country's history of human rights violations.

It's been a couple days since Kid Rock was spotted sipping a Bud Light -- and the reactions across Twitter have been just as unhinged as you'd expect ... with people weighing in on both sides.

For starters, accounts that usually push conservative views seem to feel betrayed in a sense ... some writing, "TREASON" another wrote, "I am STRONGLY against CANCEL CULTURE but I am calling for a boycott of all Kid Rock products until further notice."

Others simply seem to be in disbelief, "C'mon Kid Rock, what are we doing?"

However, some on the right are still sticking with their guy, announcing, "I will ALWAYS stand with Kid Rock! If you’ve already had many non-woke beers, it is easy to be tricked into drinking a woke Bud Light by accident. Give Kid a break. He’s fighting hard for our freedom!"

Of course, the images have also been met with plenty of humor and memes as well, one account writing, "Damn, never thought I’d have to give Kid Rock the Bud Light treatment but here we are. Just shot up all my Kid Rock vinyl and CDs. I loved Kid Rock, but I hope Kid Woke goes broke."

TMZ broke the story, the Trump fanatic was spotted drinking a Bud Light at a concert in Nashville last week.

The scenario seemed almost impossible a few months back when KR uploaded himself shooting up a bunch of cases of the beer, exclaiming, "F*** Bud Light and f*** Anheuser Busch" after trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney published an ad-spot with the company.

Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson says she's been iced out of network TV amid her campaign ... but says moving to TikTok has done wonders.

Williamson, formerly known as the "spiritual advisor" to Oprah Winfrey, joined us on "TMZ Live" Friday, chatting about not being able to bring her campaign to TV. She says she eventually realized the social media app would bring a lot of power to her cause.

She says the platform's been a great way to reach young U.S. voters ... and according to her, there's a shocking difference in intelligence on TikTok compared to on big news orgs.

As for the old stigma that young folks aren't rocking the vote, she says that's BS -- and tells us exactly why.

For those unaware, Williamson is 1 of 2 Democrats -- RFK Jr. being the other -- running against current prez, Joe Biden ... and since the DNC doesn't normally hold debates when a current president is in the mix, her campaign has been crucial to getting the word out.

She also wasn't welcomed into the race by her fellow Democrats, and staffers from her 2020 campaign didn't think she should go for it, but her move to TikTok is seemingly helping.

Williamson has raked in over half a million followers -- the most on the app compared to other candidates -- and since making the switch, she's been polling above 20% with voters under 30.

Donald Trump is looking to kick one of his criminal cases down the road -- way down the road -- he wants his federal election interference trial to begin after he gets another shot at the White House.

In new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Trump is seeking to delay his upcoming trial until April 2026 ... instead of the January 2024 trial date Special Counsel Jack Smith wants.

Trump's proposed trial start would fall about 17 months after the 2024 presidential election, in which he's the leading Republican candidate.

According to the docs, Trump says the delay is necessary because prosecutors have produced 11.5 million pages of documents -- which he says if stacked together would stretch nearly 5,000 feet into the sky -- and his attorneys need time to comb through all of it.

The former president is now facing 4 criminal cases, but this is related to his federal indictment for attempting to undermine the 2020 election with his actions on, before and after January 6, 2021.

Remember, prosecutors at the Department of Justice charged Trump on Aug. 1 with 4 counts -- conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights (to vote).

Trump's pleaded not guilty ... and Smith's team of prosecutors previously filed docs requesting jury selection begin in December, with the trial starting Jan. 2.

Of course, that would be square in the middle of Trump's campaign for the 2024 election -- keep in mind the Iowa Caucus is on Jan. 15.

So, it's not all that surprising Trump wants to hit pause, and push it until well after the 2024 election ... to a date when he could actually be POTUS, once again. That would make more history.

Sexyy Red and Sukihana are twerking in the face of their critics in the aftermath of Hip Hop's 50th anniversary -- dropping their salacious new "Hood Rats" video with support from Summer Walker, Saucy Santana and more!!!

Directed by Des Gray, both Sexyy and Suki put their "acting" chops on display throughout the mini-film ... infiltrating a very suburban country club before launching into a barrage of booty-hole-licking lyrics.

The pair was also apparently feeling patriotic while writing the song ... Suki makes a play for President Biden with the line, "I swallow n**, I really feel like an elephant/Tell Joe Biden I wanna suck on the President!!!"

We're guessing the First Lady won't be streaming 'Hood.' Historically, Commanders-in-chief and oral sex is a touchy subject!

Rapper Webbie and YouTuber Funny Marco add comedic cameos to the vid but the real payoff for fans comes courtesy of Summer and Saucy's rump-shaking inclusion ...  which set the internet ablaze a couple of weeks ago thanks to the parking lot party they had.

Tan Mom's run for a U.S. Senate seat is due, in no small part, to some of Ron DeSantis' policies -- she tells us some of Florida's most controversial issues prompted her decision to run ... and to do it as a Republican.

The bronzed mother of 5, whose real name is Patricia Krentcil, joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live," saying things like books being banned in FL and Gov. DeSantis' restrictions on Medicaid were enough to get her to step up to the plate.

We also talked to her about her choice to run as a Republican, even though she's openly opposing the party line on several issues ... particularly in Florida.

Patricia says she's just always been a Republican, but doesn't think her views about certain topics require her to change parties.

She says she's hoping she can break out of her "Tan Mom" brand, and wants her fellow conservatives to try to see things the way she does.

The Killers are apologizing to their fans after getting pelted with boos at a recent concert in the country of Georgia for bringing a Russian fan onstage and calling him their "brother."

The rock band, led by singer Brandon Flowers, invited a fan up onstage at their Shekvetili gig Tuesday to play the drums -- a tradition the group's been doing for a while. This fan, however, claimed he was from Russia ... something the Georgian crowd wasn't thrilled with.

Brandon and co. got a swarm of negative responses instantly, prompting him to suggest the man was the country's brother -- which set them off even more. After more booing, he asked if he wasn't their brother, being from America ... and got more boos.

The crowd got pretty pissed, and many folks in the crowd reportedly left in protest ... and the band offered up an apology after the rough show, saying, "Good people of Georgia, it was never our intention to offend anyone!"

Responding to the "brother" comment, they add, "We recognize that a comment, meant to suggest that all of The Killers' audience and fans are 'brothers and sisters,' could be misconstrued. We did not mean to upset anyone and we apologize."

Tan Mom is throwing her hat in the ring to become the next U.S. Senator from the state of Florida.

Patricia Krentcil, the government name we assume she'd use in D.C., filed paperwork Monday with the Federal Elections Commission to officially run for U.S. Senate in 2024.

Tan Mom's Senate campaign comes on the heels of her latest reality TV show, "Tan to 10," a docuseries following her attempt to quit tanning as part of what she calls an "extreme life makeover."

Patricia says she forged a bond with the LGBTQ+ community during her life makeover and she wants to use those connections to spark change in Washington D.C. with her Senate bid.

Tan Mom -- a frequent guest on "The Howard Stern Show" -- is going up against incumbent Senator Rick Scott, so she's fighting an uphill battle here ... but she's already launched her campaign website and is running as a Republican based out of Boca Raton, naming her producers Gregg Maliff and Adam Barta as her campaign managers.

A single mother to 5 children, Tan Mom says her campaign platforms include LGBTQ+ equality and bringing diversity back to the classrooms -- both hot-button issues in the Sunshine State -- and she's aiming to connect with voters during a slew of upcoming community appearances,

Tan Mom tells TMZ ... "I know that I am different. And I have suffered for it. But us all being different is what makes this country so amazing and unique."