Politics

There's been a lot of social media speculation about President Donald Trump staging his White House delivery from "DoorDash Grandma" -- AKA Sharon Simmons -- and people are accusing her of being on the president's payroll.

That's because a video of Sharon started circulating after Monday's televised delivery ... showing her supporting the "One Big Beautiful Bill" during a 2025 committee meeting with Tennessee Rep. David Kustoff.

Between that and her vocal support of Trump's "No Tax On Tips" initiative, people are calling Sharon a plant.

But DoorDash insists that's not the case. Julian Crowley -- Head of Public Affairs for the company -- responded to the accusations on X, saying she's just a Dasher and grandma who happens to support the "No Tax on Tips" law.

He acknowledged the stunt was "clearly and obviously" staged in another post, writing ... "No one is claiming it was a real delivery."

President Donald Trump is done with one of his most ardent supporters Riley Gaines, after she dared to criticize him for posting an A.I. image of himself looking like Jesus Christ.

Here's the deal ... Gaines, a former NCAA swimmer and current anti-trans activist, posted a message on X, asking Trump to show a "little humility" and refrain from mocking God.

That, of course, pissed off the Commander-in-Chief, who went after Gaines -- after he deleted the controversial image due to mounting pressure from his base and from Catholics, who saw the photo as blasphemous.

As you can see, the image depicts Trump in a Jesus-like robe, putting one hand on the forehead of a sick man in a hospital bed while a divine light shines in his other hand.

A woman accusing Eric Swalwell of sexual misconduct is set to detail her grievances in a press conference Tuesday, her attorney has announced.

The woman's high-profile attorney, Lisa Bloom, revealed the news on Instagram Monday night ... saying her client has "pretty serious sexual misconduct" allegations to air. The presser is set to take place this morning in Beverly Hills.

As you know, Swalwell exited California governor's race Sunday after sexual assault and misconduct allegations by a former staff member and at least 3 other women. Bloom slammed Swalwell in her Instagram video ... saying he didn't ditch the race as an act of accountability, but instead because he wanted to avoid the ethics investigation that Congress opened into him.

Rep. Johnathan Jackson is firmly in Pope Leo's corner amid a recent beef with President Trump ... and he's reminding POTUS he's not God.

A photog got the Congressman from Illinois arriving in Washington D.C. Monday after Congress' two-week paid vacation and asked him about Trump's attacks on the Pope.

Jackson, the son of the late Reverend Jesse Jackson, says Pope Leo is not to be messed with, and Trump needs to be reigned in.

Rep. Tony Gonzales says he's retiring from Congress ... stepping aside after admitting to having an affair with a staffer who committed suicide last year by setting herself on fire.

The Republican Congressman from Texas announced his retirement plans Monday in a social media post, saying ... "There is a season for everything and God has a plan for us all. When Congress returns tomorrow, I will file my retirement from office. It has been my privilege to serve the great people of Texas."

Gonzales was running for re-election until his campaign got rocked by allegations he had an affair with former staffer Regina Santos-Aviles, who died in 2025.

California Congressman Eric Swalwell says he’s stepping down from Capitol Hill -- and he’s owning up to past mistakes while blasting what he calls a rush to judgment in Washington.

In a statement announcing his resignation he posted to X, Swalwell apologized to his family, staff, and constituents for what he described as “mistakes in judgment” -- but made it clear he’s not backing down from a separate allegation he insists is flat-out false.

Swalwell says he plans to fight that accusation head-on … but at the same time, he admitted the controversy has become a distraction he doesn’t want hanging over the people he represents.

Our TMZ DC staff is now ensconced in Washington, D.C. and open for business!

Our 3 intrepid producers -- Charlie Cotton, Jacob Wasserman and Jakson Buhaj -- are working The Hill. They arrived over the weekend and their first day on the job was supposed to be today -- when members of Congress return from their 2-week break.

Turns out ... members of the House aren't coming back to work until Tuesday -- gotta make sure they get 2 full weeks off, right?

President Donald Trump got some heat for posting -- and ultimately deleting -- an A.I.-generated pic of himself as Jesus ... but he says that wasn't his intention.

In a news conference Monday, Donald said ... "I did post it and I thought it was me as a doctor." Trump claims he thought the image was of him as a Red Cross doc because there "was a Red Cross worker" in the photo.

While it's true there is a doctor in the pic ... the A.I. rendering of Trump shows himself wearing a white tunic and a red shawl -- which is what Jesus is commonly depicted wearing.

President Trump just got McDonald's delivered to the White House by a "DoorDash Grandma" in a bizarre scene that Trump says "doesn't look staged, does it?"

The Prez answered the door at the White House when a DoorDasher came knocking Monday ... she carried two bags of McDonald's and told Trump he was getting all of his favorite menu items.

Trump greeted the older woman -- who was wearing a "DoorDash Grandma" shirt -- grabbed the bags and started talking to her about her tax return.

Billionaire businessman Stephen Cloobeck directly confronted Eric Swalwell about the sexual assault allegations against him, telling the congressman he'd "busted the trust" ... before Cloobeck gave him the boot, TMZ has learned.

In a phone interview Monday with TMZ ... Cloobeck went into detail on what led up to tossing Swalwell (D-CA) out of his California mansion, saying it all came down to "integrity."

Cloobeck said as a businessman, he does not "bust the trust" and always has integrity ... which is not the case with Swalwell.

President Trump's $10 billion legal battle with the Wall Street Journal -- over its reporting on his alleged birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein -- just took a major hit, with a judge throwing it out of court ... for now.

In Monday morning's dismissal, the federal judge said Trump's defamation lawsuit failed to plausibly allege WSJ reported with "actual malice" or reckless disregard for the truth when it published a story claiming Trump wrote a racy letter celebrating Epstein's 50th birthday.

The letter, allegedly handwritten by Trump and framed in the image of a naked woman, included a creepy convo between Trump and Epstein, and Trump's closing line ... "A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy birthday -- and may every day be another wonderful secret."

President Donald Trump isn't the only one who can use A.I. ... California Governor Gavin Newsom just savagely trolled the president with a photo portraying DT as the Grim Reaper, with an old friend looking over his shoulder.

Newsom's brutal slam follows Trump sharing an A.I.-generated image of himself resembling Jesus on Sunday after criticizing Pope Leo XIV as "weak."

In response, Newsom posted a dark image of Trump in a black cloak, with his skeletal hand gripping a scythe as Jeffrey Epstein hovers just behind him.

Karol G delivered on her stated intention of giving a thoughtful message about immigration in the U.S. ... the singer powerfully spoke out during a performance at Coachella 2026.

Watch the video ... the Grammy winner says Latinos' recent struggles in this country bring out their resilience and "strong spirit."

"I stand for my Latino community," she says surrounded by dancers. She goes on to explain that they don't celebrate their culture to alienate people ... "Actually we do this, because we want everyone to feel welcome to our culture."

Pope Leo XIV is not taking any crap from President Donald Trump ... firing back at DJT's nasty Truth Social post that slammed the Pontiff for his perceived liberal-leaning views on crime and foreign policy.

Leo was speaking with journalists aboard the papal plane en route to Algeria Monday when he was asked about Trump's verbal attacks on what the Commander-in-Chief sees as the Pope's "Radical Left" beliefs.

Check out video of Leo's response ... he calmly tells reporters he has "no fear of the Trump administration or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what the Church is here to do."

Leo added he and his Catholic church cronies are not politicians and "don’t deal with foreign policy with the same perspective" as Trump. He went on to say he believes "in the message of the Gospel, as a peacemaker.”