Politics

An important piece of American history is hitting the auction block ... George Washington's letter setting the stage for future presidents and the country, and it's expected to fetch 7 figures!!!

Washington wrote and signed the letter in March 1789 at his Mount Vernon estate, just a few weeks before he took the oath of office to become America's first President. In the correspondence with a Naval officer in Philadelphia, GW vows to "make justice and public good my sole objects" during his presidency.

This literal national treasure is going up for sale through the good folks over at Gotta Have Rock and Roll ... and the auction house tells us it's expecting the winning bid to be at least $1 million.

The auction goes live today and ends September 22 ... and someone's gonna drop a lot of dead presidents on this artifact.

Barack and Michelle Obama cheered on Novak Djokovic from the front row of the tennis superstar's US Open match Monday night ... an interesting sight -- considering the trio couldn't have been more in disagreement over the COVID vaccine for the past few years.

No. 44 and his wife were spotted clapping after most of the Joker's points in his dominant win over Alexandre Muller at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.

The match marked the first time Djokovic was able to participate in the famous tournament since 2021 -- as he wasn't allowed to travel to the U.S. last year due to his unwillingness to get the COVID vax.

Of course, the Obamas have staunchly urged people to get the jab since it became available years ago -- even sharing videos of them receiving it back in 2021.

Seems all three were able to put their differences aside Monday night, however ... 'cause it was all smiles from each party throughout the evening.

Hours before Djokovic's big win, the Obamas took in Coco Gauff's match against Laura Siegemund ... and the U.S. star couldn't have been more thrilled about it.

Despite a frustrating match where she argued with officials over the way Siegemund was taking extended breaks between points ... Gauff said her whole mood changed when she got to meet with the Obamas afterward.

"I was like, 'Oh, my God,'" Gauff said, starstruck after their meetup. "I haven't soaked it in because I literally just walked in here. I think I'm going to never forget that moment for the rest of my life. I went from being really upset after a win to, like, being really happy."

Eminem is not a fan of Vivek Ramaswamy rapping one of his biggest hits on the campaign trail -- he wants the Republican presidential candidate to lose his music.

The "Lose Yourself" rapper made his feelings known to music licenser BMI after Vivek went viral for rapping some of Em's Oscar-winning track on stage at the Iowa State Fair earlier this month.

In the letter, Marshall Mathers asks BMI to yank his songs from their agreement to stop Vivek from using his tracks.

As a result, BMI fired off a cease and desist letter to Vivek's campaign lawyer last week ... telling them Eminem's objecting to the use of his songs.

Translation: Go ahead and lose yourself, just not in MY music!!!

In the letter, first obtained by Daily Mail, BMI threatens legal consequences should Vivek's campaign keep Eminem's songs in its rotation.

Vivek's fresh off a well-received performance at the first GOP presidential debate and is currently in the middle of a media blitz, including a stop on "TMZ Live," but Eminem's not feeling his vibe.

Vivek Ramaswamy is calling for peaceful protests if Donald Trump is tried and convicted in any of his 4 criminal cases because he says he firmly believes violence is not the answer.

The 2024 Republican Presidential candidate joined us Monday on "TMZ Live" and we asked if he would publicly discourage and denounce violent protests in the wake of a potential Trump loss in court -- a scenario lots of folks fear could happen.

Vivek, who emerged victorious in the first GOP debate, says peaceful demonstrations and self-expression are a core part of American life ... but he says he's dead set against violence in this country.

That's in line with his publicly stated view of the Jan. 6 insurrection.

The businessman-turned-politician says Trump's actions that fateful day were a "very bad decision," but he's not sure it rises to the level of a crime. That might seem like a backpedal from him ripping Trump's Jan. 6 behavior as "abhorrent" in his book, "Woke, Inc." ... but Ramaswamy says both statements can be true.

Vivek's also called Trump the best president in the 21st century, and yet, he told us would not be Trump's vice president ... if Trump wins the GOP nomination instead of him.

The conversation also features Vivek's thoughts, or lack thereof, on the strikes in Hollywood ... which he says don't have much of an impact on Americans by and large, so he hasn't given the issue much thought.

Vivek also touches on racism, white supremacy and discrimination ... and there's a pretty healthy debate.

This grandfather is lookin' his best and achieving celebrity status while he's at it ... because he's gained quite the following remaking iconic looks from a bunch of A-listers.

77-year-old Alojz Abram has garnered 1.7M followers on Instagram through the page of his grandson, Jannik Diefenbach, and fans are convinced gramps -- who emigrated from Slovenia to Germany more than 55 years ago -- is drowning in some serious drip.

Alojz and his grandson have made some near-perfect replicas of fashion choices by the likes of Kanye West, Kylie Jenner, and even Bernie Sanders' viral inauguration look from 2021.

The fashionable duo tells TMZ ... they've been doing these popular pics since Christmas 2016, and the followers started rolling in not long after that. We're told they pick and choose between celebs they're both into, as well as whoever's big at the moment.

Jannik does a lot of the research and prep -- finding the outfits and the right poses to recreate -- but it all goes to Grandpa for final approval.

Jannik says they've gotten DMs from celebs as their online presence continues to grow, and even got an invite to the DIOR x Travis Scott show at Paris Fashion Week ... which they say was their "favorite show ever."

Neil deGrasse Tyson is happy UFOs are being taken more seriously by our government ... but he highly doubts we've been visited by aliens, and he's got one big reason.

We got Neil at LAX, and he jumped on the subject of aliens visiting planet Earth, saying it's highly improbable out-of-this-world visitors could escape omnipresent video from cellphones.

Neil says he'd love for our government to be more open about any recorded phenomenon, but he doesn't think a full-on invasion has gone down that officials are keeping a secret.

In case you missed it, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie had a laugh during the Republican debate over UFOs... but promised to give Americans the 411 if he gets elected.

This might be a sign -- but what's being communicated is in the eye of the beholder ... Donald Trump was floating sky-high over the great state of Florida this weekend! Eh, sorta.

Here's the deal ... a happy family was leaving Universal Studios in Orlando Saturday evening when they looked up during their drive back and saw what can only be described as the side profile of the ex-Prez -- only, it appeared in Cumulus form ... and the footage is unreal.

Take a look at this video -- obtained by TMZ -- which caught the uncanny celestial moment ... indeed, you can see the massive cloud blocking the setting sun -- and it looks like DT!

The coiffed hair, protruding nose, and puckered lips are unmistakably linked to Trump ... and there it was, just casually cruising across the gorgeous skies -- staying perfectly intact.

To make this story even crazier is what this family says they were doing right before they saw this. The hubby, Sonny Ritacca, tells TMZ that as they were exiting the park ... he and his wife had just seen Trump's mug shot for themselves -- which was released Friday evening.

Right at that moment, Ritacca says his spouse looked up ... and saw this heavenly being. He tells us the wife pointed it out and he agreed, it bared a passing resemblance -- with an added jab, "Yeah, that cloud is 6'3 and 215 pounds." Of course, that's a whole thing. 😅

The couple kept on driving and didn't get out -- neither did anyone else, it seems -- and they thought it was just an odd sight, which it is. Now, for the MAGA crowd ... they probably see this as a divine omen from the G-O-D himself, but others might view it a little differently.

Check out the sign this family captured as they were driving ... it's a "buckle up" warning.

Donald Trump and Martin Luther King Jr. have a lot in common, especially in their mugs -- at least that's what some on the right are saying ... on a momentous day, no less.

Indeed, this is a comparison that several conservatives on Twitter have actually been making over the last 24 hours -- which just so happens to fall on the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington Saturday, when MLK delivered his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech in D.C.

The reason so many of these right-wing figures are suggesting DT and MLK are one in the same here, apparently, has to do with how they look in the police booking photos.

Obviously, Trump comes across as angry and defiant -- and many are suggesting he's echoing the likes of other iconic American figures throughout history ... like Elvis Presley, Janis Joplin and, yes, even Dr. King. That's what FOX News's Will Cain said Friday, anyway.

He got pushback from FOX contributor Jessica Tarlov ... who said what Trump's going through in the criminal justice system right now isn't even close to what MLK put up with.

One would think it's an obvious apples-to-oranges case, but it sounds like A LOT of Trump supporters legitimately think he's a victim of political persecution ... and a target of Justice Department. That was true in Dr. King's case, no doubt, but the jury's kinda out on Trump.

Dr. King, of course, was arrested many, many times over the years (wrongly, and often without just cause) for trying to stand up for civil rights for Black Americans. His imprisonments were often carried out down in the South, especially in Alabama.

Like Trump, though, he was also arrested by Atlanta-area authorities during a protest sit-in in 1960. That's not much of a connection, but some are connecting those dots regardless.

Another weird thing that's happening with this Trump/MLK phenomenon ... a ton of AI art is being generated and circulated that shows the two of them cozying up and posing together.

Now, as you might imagine ... there's been a lot of outcry over the viral juxtaposition. The argument on the other side of this is ... Trump is not the martyr his base is trying to make him out to be, and he certainly shouldn't be mentioned in the same convo as MLK at all.

None of MLK's family members have responded to this side-by-side just yet ... which makes sense. A lot of them are down in Washington right now trying to honor his memory/legacy.

Barack Obama's kids are just like us -- hitting the grocery store on their own to stock up on grub ... which is exactly what Sasha Obama was doing this week.

The ex-First Daughter -- who's 22 years old now -- was spotted out in WeHo Friday doing a little supermarket pop-in at a Trader Joe's there ... and as you can see, she was venturing out solo for the food run, without a bodyguard in sight (more on this later).

Sasha had on headphones and was wearing a pretty relaxed 'fit -- crop top, etc. Nobody seemed to recognize her, and no one bothered her either. She was just doing her thing.

It might not seem fascinating on its face -- after all, we know Sasha's been living out here in L.A. for a quick minute now ... as she's often spotted hitting the town, especially Hollywood.

Ditto for her sister, Malia ... who's also living in L.A. now and working as a professional screenwriter. Both of the Obama girls are usually rolling solo -- without any SS protection.

If you've been wondering why that might be the case -- seeing how their mom and dad are always surrounded by government-sanctioned bodyguards, and will be for the rest of their days -- the answer lies in Secret Service policy ... which says the kiddos get cut off after 16.

This explains why Sasha and Malia are almost always on their own ... and look like ordinary citizens. At this point, in Uncle Sam's eyes -- they very much are. Also, remember ... Barack has publicly said his daughters didn't like SS trailing them when they were teens, jokingly saying they had "PTSD" from the whole experience. So, yeah -- they've outgrown it.

President Joe Biden rubbed salt into Donald Trump’s wounds Friday, chuckling about his rival's now infamous mug shot while making a snarky remark.

JB poked fun at DT after he walked out of a Pilates class in South Tahoe, California, and answered a few questions from a gaggle of reporters waiting outside.

Biden was asked if he saw Trump’s booking photo and he started laughing, saying he caught the image on TV.

POTUS then mocked Trump, calling him a “handsome guy, wonderful guy.”

Some observers didn’t take kindly to Biden's remarks and booed him, showing the deep divide between voters and just how ugly our politics have become.

And Trump is in the middle of it with his myriad of legal woes stemming from the last presidential election. As you know, the 45th President has been indicted on state and federal charges in four jurisdictions around the country.

This past week, Trump posed for his historic mug shot at the Fulton County Jail in Georgia, where he stands accused of trying to subvert the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Trevian Kutti, a former publicist for Kanye West and R. Kelly, is charged as one of Donald Trump's co-conspirators in the Georgia election interference case, which is a surprise to Consequence ... who's vouching for her character.

Cons tell us Trevian worked with Ye alongside Chance The Rapper during crucial periods of his political ambitions circa 2018, but isn't certain if she actually performed publicist duties ... or if the media is pinning that label on her to leverage her association with Ye.

Trevian surrendered Friday at Fulton County Jail, and was all smiles in her mug shot ... which doesn't shock Cons, because he says she was always pleasant to be around.

He says he never got any inklings of malintent from Trevian, and suspects her political affiliation as a Black Republican might have put a target on her back.

Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis doesn't see it that way ... Trevian stands accused of pressuring Georgia election worker Ruby Freeman into a false admission of rigging the election -- and the alleged coercion was captured on police body cam.

As for Ye's potential political passions ... Cons admits it's too early to tell if he'll go full-scale with a presidential run in 2024, but promises their reputation as disruptors will be upheld!!!

Oliver Anthony -- the singer whose "Rich Men North of Richmond" currently sits at the top of the charts -- says his message has been clouded, and despite what many may want to think, he's not a political pawn to be used by conservatives.

The Virginia native got candid in a self-taped video just a couple days after the GOP played his song during the first debate for Presidential hopefuls.

Anthony says it's funny because he wrote his hit song about the very people on stage and how they've lost their care and consideration for the common, working man.

The country-folk singer notes his message is bigger than one political party, noting, "It's aggravating seeing people on conservative news try to identify with me like I'm one of them."

Anthony's song seems to take aim at politicians as a whole, not a specific side of the aisle, he notes, "That song has nothing to do with Joe Biden, it's a lot bigger than Joe Biden."

He says, "I see the right trying to characterize me as one of their own, and I see the left trying to discredit me. I guess in retaliation. That s***'s gotta stop."

Plies is having a field day on Donald Trump in the wake of the ex-president's 4th indictment ... gunning for 45's Black supporters wearing their allegiance on their chest.

The "Ritz Carlton" rapper poked fun at Trump's mug shot and the seemingly inaccurate stats -- 6'3", 215 lbs -- on his booking sheet. Plies is also taking it to the Georgia man who went viral earlier this week for conducting an interview while wearing a shirt that says "N**** 4 Trump."

Plies didn't hold his tongue and accused the man (and everyone like him) of being cornballs back in high school ... while smelling funky and never getting haircuts.

There's been a lot of contention for African Americans affiliated with the Republican party as of late ... Charlamagne and GOP presidential candidate Larry Elder went blow-for-blow this week, splitting opinions down the middle.

8/25 -- Luis Rubiales is refuting reports of his resignation ... saying on Friday he isn't going anywhere, and insisting the kiss was consensual.

"Do you think this is so serious that I should go, after the best management in the history of Spanish football?" Rubiales said, according to reported translations. "Let me tell you -- I'm not going to resign. I'm not going to resign. I'm not going to resign."

Rubiales added his own take on the situation ... claiming the kiss was as innocent as if he were interacting with his daughters -- insisting he asked Jenni Hermoso's permission prior to planting his lips on her.

"These people are trying to assassinate me and I'm going to defend myself," Rubiales added. "The false feminists destroy people ... The press, in the majority, will keep killing me but I know the truth, and what my family and the people who love me think. The truth is the truth."

Rubiales is stepping down from his role as head of the Spanish soccer federation ... with multiple reports claiming the boss will resign on Friday following the backlash and investigation stemming from the kiss scandal.

Spain soccer boss Luis Rubiales is under FIFA investigation for planting an unwanted kiss on one of his players following the country's World Cup victory this week, the soccer governing body announced Thursday.

"The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has informed Rubiales that it is opening disciplinary proceedings against him based on the events that occurred during the final," a statement released by FIFA read.

The international governing body went on to say Rubiales might've violated rules dictating "Offensive behavior and violations of the principles of fair play" for the unsolicited kiss of midfielder Jenni Hermoso after Spain's epic 1-0 win over England in the World Cup Final on August 20.

Rubiales, who is 46, has received widespread rebuke for his actions after the match. He was also photographed carrying a player over his shoulder and grabbing his crotch.

After initially acting defiant, Rubiales apologized, saying, "I made a mistake, for sure."

"I have to accept it. In a moment of such emotion, without any bad intention or bad faith, what happened, happened, in a very spontaneous way."

The soccer president added ... "I have to learn from this and understand that a president of an institution as important as the federation -- above all in ceremonies and that kind of thing -- should be more careful."

But, the apology wasn't enough for many, including the country's top politician, Acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez who called the apology "insufficient and inadequate."

FUTPRO, the union that represents Hermoso, the player who was kissed, released a statement on her behalf, saying "acts that should never go unpunished."

As for what will happen to Rubiales, FIFA won't say until the investigation is completed. However, they did offer a rebuke of his actions.

"FIFA reiterates its unwavering commitment to respecting the integrity of all individuals and strongly condemns any behavior to the contrary."

Despite FIFA's investigation still being underway, there's a chance Rubiales loses his job before the disciplinary committee concludes its work. There are mounting calls for Luis' job in Spain, and the Royal Spanish Football Federation is planning to meet Friday to discuss the controversy.

Donald Trump's now infamous mug shot was not the only hot topic burning up the Internet Thursday ... there was a HUGE debate over 45's physical attributes on his booking form.

As everyone already knows, the ex-POTUS surrendered to authorities at the Fulton County Jail last night after he was criminally indicted for allegedly trying to subvert the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.

DT posed for his scowling mug shot, which was then beamed around the world. Then something else caught the public's eye ... on his booking sheet, Trump's hair was described as "Blond or Strawberry," and his height and weight were listed as 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds.

Many people -- mostly on the left -- weren't buying DT's physical description and took to "X," the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, to weigh in on the matter.

Film Director Rob Reiner wrote, "215 pounds. No f**king way!"

Democratic strategist Sawyer Hackett insisted, "There is ZERO chance Trump is 6'3 and 215 pounds."

NFL reporter Scott Kacsmar posted a side-by-side photo comparison of chubby Trump and muscled football star Larry Fitzgerald, each with nearly the same physical characteristics. The caption read, "LIKE HELL."

ABC News noted Trump's height and weight were pre-reported to the jail to speed up the booking process ... giving skeptics even more ammo to think the numbers don't add up.

Donald Trump's now the first former U.S. President to get his mug shot taken ... as he's been booked for the 13 counts he's facing in Georgia for allegedly interfering in 2020 election results in that state.

Trump had a defiant look on his face, with his chin down for the historic photo.

The former prez surrendered Thursday evening at Fulton County Jail, where he was processed like any other alleged criminal -- fingerprints, mug shot -- and then promptly released after posting a $200k bond.

The whole process took less than 20 minutes, and according to Trump's booking info ... he stands 6'3" and is currently tipping the scales at 215 lbs. 🤔

He drew quite the spectacle -- TV cameras followed his motorcade from helicopters in the air and vehicles training on the ground as he made his way to and from his private jet at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

Before taking off, Trump briefly spoke to reporters on the tarmac and derided not just the indictment, but the fact he had to go through the whole booking process. Although he's facing several other criminal cases, this is the first time he's been forced to take a mug shot.

Trump stands accused of engaging in organized crime activity for the purpose of overturning the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia.

The indictment also charged 18 alleged co-conspirators -- including Rudy Giuliani and Trump's former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows -- both of whom have already surrendered and had their mug shots taken.

Trump's surrender comes about 24 hours after the first debate for GOP presidential candidates, which Trump did not attend.

As we reported ... a Fulton County grand jury indicted Trump on 13 counts earlier this month, including RICO (Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organization) charges.

In addition to the Georgia case, Trump has 3 other criminal cases currently pending -- one in New York state for an alleged hush money payment to Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election, a federal case tied to his classified documents scandal after leaving office, and another federal case pertaining to his alleged efforts to undermine the 2020 election with his actions on, before and after Jan. 6.