Politics

10:55 AM PT -- Ely Murray-Quick, the man seen in the viral back-and-forth video with South Carolina Congresswoman Nancy Mace, posted a statement on Facebook Monday about the incident, directed at Mace herself. He says, in part ...

"If Nancy Mace invested even half as much effort into crafting actual policy or advocating for the people of South Carolina as she does posting about my outfits and spinning dramatics about a two-second public interaction, maybe — just maybe — her district wouldn’t be clinging to the bottom rung of national rankings in education, infrastructure, and healthcare access. But alas, we get performative outrage, keyboard crusades, and a woman who clings to victimhood like it’s the last microphone on Fox News."

Congresswoman Nancy Mace isn’t backing down -- in fact, she’s doubling down on an argument that went viral this weekend, even as the internet’s still split on who really started the drama.

Mace kicked off the week swinging, posting on X -- "Good morning to everyone except men who wear daisy dukes" -- a clear jab at the guy she clashed with in that viral clip, who she flamed not just for his tiny short-shorts, but for browsing in a makeup store too.

Nancy seemed to be on a bit of a press tour, hyping up her upcoming 77 WABC radio interview on X -- teasing she'd be talking "daisy dukes and lunatics who get in the faces of conservatives." She posted on her personal account, not her official one. Should be noted ... the man in question was not wearing denim cut-offs, just saying.

JD Vance was one of the last people who saw Pope Francis alive, meeting with the pontiff on Easter Sunday at the Vatican in Rome before his death.

President Trump's VP briefly interacted with Francis in a reception room of the Vatican guesthouse known as Domus Santa Marta, where the Pope chose to reside.

Their pleasant exchange — coming after Francis blasted the Trump administration's mass deportations of migrants — was caught on video.

Congresswoman Nancy Mace says she was harassed at a store, sharing a clip of the interaction ... though many online are split about who's in the wrong here.

The representative from South Carolina shared an interaction she says went down at a makeup store this weekend ... filming a dude after it seems he asked her if she planned to have any other town halls this year like she did last year.

While the man seems to be asking with what might be a bit of snark and amusement in his voice -- Congresswoman Mace loses it ... repeatedly saying this man is harassing her and telling him he could've gone to a dozen town halls last year.

Dr. Oz's granddaughter is doing fine after her medical scare in the White House last week, her mom says ... and, she says President Donald Trump did a great job keeping her kids calm.

Daphne Oz took to Instagram Sunday morning to share an update on her daughter, Philo, who collapsed in the Oval Office at Dr. Oz's swearing-in ceremony Friday.

Daphne shared a series of photos from the day -- showing her family dressed in their finest clothes outside the White House as well as a snap where her kids are meeting President Trump.

Ivanka Trump's heating up the beach once again ... showing off her surf skills down in Costa Rica -- with supermodel Karlie Kloss by her side!

The First Daughter was spotted in the Central American country Thursday ... hitting the beach and hopping back on her trusty surfboard in the crystal clear ocean water.

Check out the pics ... Ivanka's showing off her bod in an orange two-piece -- soaked in the salty water but looking happy while walking along the beach later on.

Ksenia Karelina, the Russian-American ballerina freed from a Russian prison after over a year behind bars, finally touched down back home in L.A. Friday night, greeted by family and friends, including her fiancé, boxer Chris van Heerden, who thanked Trump, and blasted Biden.

"The old administration didn't do nothing for her. We're very thankful for President Trump and the new administration," van Heerden told TMZ Sports moments after Karelina's plane touched down at LAX, and she reunited with family and friends.

Chris says while there were a "handful of people in the old administration that were amazing," he quickly realized DJT was Ksenia's best bet at being released from custody.

Bill Maher is laughing out loud over Trump's plan to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. of A. ... because ain't no one gonna work at these shiny new plants!

The 'Real Time' host went in HARD on Gen Z, saying they're hardly the hard-hatted, lunch-pale-carrying, manly men who punch in at 7 AM for an 8-hour shift.

Bill doesn't necessarily blame Gen Z for their softness, musing that masculinity is now a hate crime!

The job never stops for Dr. Oz ... because one of his granddaughters fainted during his swearing-in ceremony at the White House -- and he got called into action!!!

Ya gotta see the video ... President Donald Trump is answering questions about Iran in the Oval Office, with Dr. Oz and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. behind him, when all of a sudden a commotion in the room interrupts.

You hear Oz's daughter Daphne shouting, "Phil fainted, Phil fainted, Dad, go" ... and then he rushes towards his granddaughter, Philomena Bijou.

CM Punk is sure Elon Musk was giving a Nazi salute at that Donald Trump inauguration event back in January ... and the WWE Superstar is adamant there's no amount of "gaslighting" the billionaire can do to sway his opinion.

The 46-year-old wrestler went in on the Tesla honcho during an appearance on this week's "The Ringer Wrestling Show" ... insisting Musk gave a "Sieg Heil" while speaking to a pro-Trump crowd at Capital One Arena on Jan. 20.

Musk, of course, has stated the gesture was nothing more than an impassioned wave -- pointing out in an X post that plenty of politicians have made similar moves -- but Punk told the guys on the pod he's not buying it.

Sorry Katy Perry ... you and your fellow space travelers are no astronauts, according to U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

Days after Katy, Lauren Sánchez, Gayle King, Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyễn, and Kerianne Flynn made an 11-minute long excursion into space thanks to Blue Origin ... Duffy is telling them to get their heads out of the clouds -- because technically, they don't fit the FAA description of bona fide astronauts.

He took to X Thursday to express his feelings about the group of esteemed women being applauded as astronauts by Jeff Bezos' company, and the general public ... noting while they were certainly "brave and glam," they cannot be identified as astronauts because they did not demonstrate "activities during flight that were essential to public safety, or contributed to human space flight safety."

Ivanka Trump is having some fun in the sun in Costa Rica, enjoying some quality time with her kids at the beach and surfing her butt off in the ocean.

Speaking of Ivanka's rear end, President Donald Trump's daughter gave everyone a good look at it in her one-piece bathing suit -- and, trust us, you won't be disappointed when you catch a glimpse in our exclusive footage.

That's right ... TMZ obtained photos/videos of Ivanka and her children chilling on the sand and splashing around in the waters off Santa Teresa, Costa Rica.

Insider trading is rampant on Capitol Hill and there needs to be new laws on the books to level the playing field ... so says a trading app founder who would lose his business if a major change ever happened.

Chris Josephs runs Autopilot, a trading app that lets regular folks copy stock trades made by some of Congress' most prescient portfolios, and he joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday to tell us why he's confident Congress is using insider information to make a killing on the stock market.

Nancy Pelosi and Marjorie Taylor Greene are some of the alleged insider traders, and Chris says politicians from both sides of the aisle love to profit off crises ... he says it happened when the housing bubble burst, when Covid hit ... and is ramping up again with President Trump flip-flopping on tariffs.

Bill Maher is scoffing at the far left for slamming him over his visit to the White House ... to paraphrase Mark Antony, he feels he should not be buried, he should be praised!

Bill joined the "2 Angry Men" podcast with Harvey and Mark Geragos, and made it clear ... he spoke truth to power when he broke bread with 47.

As for his evaluation of Trump -- that he was charming, jovial and even self-effacing -- Bill laughed at his critics, wondering if they wanted him to lie. As he said, what's the option -- pulling a Gretchen Whitmer, where she covered her face when a photog snapped a shot in the Oval Office?

Roman Reigns is letting wrestling fans know to enjoy him in the ring while they can ... 'cause the WWE Superstar just hinted his time in the ring will soon come to an end, saying he's much closer to the end than he is the beginning!

The Tribal Chief, 39, sat down with Vanity Fair back in January as he made his way to Indianapolis for the Royal Rumble, when he was asked how much longer he plans to continue wrestling.

"After I finish the contract that I'm in, we probably have another year or two max," Roman said. "Then it's time to take on a less physical form of entertainment."

Jessica Alba’s proving she’s a girls' girl through and through -- clapping back at Blue Origin bashers to say their hate should be directed at President Donald Trump, not the women who made history on this week's New Shepard rocket trip to space.

The actress kept it short and sharp on her IG Story -- just a bold "THIS" slapped above a post from political strategist Ana Navarro-Cárdenas, who said she couldn't see how an 11-minute space flight by Lauren Sánchez, Gayle King, Katy Perry, Amanda Nguyen, Aisha Bowe, and Kerianne Flynn was affecting anyone's lives personally.

She urged folks to stop targeting the trailblazing women on that rocket and start holding the real power to account -- namely, the U.S. President -- calling out his "abuses of power" that actually impact countless lives in America and abroad.

The Democratic National Committee plans to take on members of its own party who aren't effective, regardless of age ... so says one of its highest ranking members.

We spoke with David Hogg -- the gun control activist turned vice chair of the DNC -- on "TMZ Live" Wednesday ... and, we talked with him about efforts to reform the Democratic Party.

Hogg tells us the DNC plans to present primary challengers against members of Congress who just straight up aren't getting the job done ... homing in pols it deems "ineffective."