President Trump

U.S. Senator Tim Scott is slamming President Donald Trump's controversial video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes ... which he's describing as incredibly racist.

ICYMI ... the video, which Trump posted on Truth Social Thursday night, showed Barack and Michelle's faces imposed on a pair of apes ... and as we know, depicting Black people as monkeys or apes is a racist trope that's been around for centuries.

Trump, meanwhile, imposed his own face on a lion's body.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told TMZ ... "This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from the Lion King. Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public."

The video was eventually removed from Truth Social, and a White House official told The Hill a staffer "erroneously made the post."

Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, hit out at Trump on X, writing ... "Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House. The President should remove it."

California Governor Gavin Newsom called it "disgusting."

"Rush Hour 4" is off to the races ... pre-production is starting within weeks, cementing Brett Ratner's return to Hollywood, TMZ has learned.

Understand the words comin' out of our mouth ... the fourth installment in the popular franchise starring Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan was greenlit last November -- shortly after President Trump randomly said he missed old-school buddy-cop comedies ... specifically saying there needed to be another 'Rush Hour.'

A source with direct knowledge tells TMZ … 'RH4' is absolutely happening -- and soon -- with pre-production set to begin within weeks, as spring arrives.

Donald Trump confirms the presidency comes with its perks ... including a massive ego boost ... which he says he desperately needed after Democrats "rigged" the 2020 election.

The President of the United States spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. Thursday morning ... and, he repeated his oft-mentioned claim the 2020 election was stolen from him.

Watch the video for his take on what winning means to his self-regard ... and how that's going now after "beating these lunatics."

Ryan Routh has been sentenced to life in prison ... months after he was found guilty of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon handed down Routh's sentence, which includes an additional seven years for a firearm offense, at a Fort Pierce, Florida courtroom on Wednesday, NBC News reports.

Prosecutors called Routh "totally unrepentant" for his crimes in a sentencing memorandum, adding ... "the heinous nature of this assassination attempt -- his selfish, violent decision to prevent the American voters from electing President Trump by killing him first -- that warrants severe criminal punishment."

FYI ... Routh was arrested after he tried to kill Trump at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach in September 2024, two months after a previous attempt on the presidential candidate's life in Butler, Pennsylvania. Authorities said Routh brought a weapon --  identified as an SKS-style rifle -- as well as two backpacks and a GoPro camera to the golf course.

The attempt was foiled after a Secret Service agent noticed the barrel of the gun poking through a fence and shrubbery and fired a shot at Routh. Trump was reportedly about 400 yards from the scene on the course.

Routh fled in an SUV parked nearby ... he was apprehended by authorities later in the day about 50 miles from the club.

Routh left a letter with an admission of guilt at a residence near Trump's Mar-A-Lago resort, which partially read ... "This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you. I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster. It is up to you now to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job."

Routh represented himself during his trial, and he was found guilty on several felony counts, including attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate and assaulting a federal officer, in September 2025. Routh tried to stab himself in the neck with a pen in court when his verdict was read.

President Donald Trump attacked a female reporter for "not smiling" on Tuesday ... after she asked him about the most recent release of Epstein Files material.

Watch the CNN clip here ... during a press conference Tuesday in the Oval Office, CNN Anchor and White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins asked Trump if he'd read through the latest massive trove of documents.

Trump answered, "No, I have a lot of things I'm doing."

Collins pressed him, saying some alleged victims' names were not redacted.

Trump said ... "I think it's really time for the country to get on to something else really, now that nothing came out about me, other than it was a conspiracy against me, literally, by Epstein and other people."

The New York Times found at least 38,000 references to Trump, Melania Trump, Trump's Mar-a-Lago club, and other related words.

Collins followed up with a question about people saying they want justice from the investigation. Trump responded by calling Collins "the worst reporter."

Trump said, "You know she's a young woman ... I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile. I’ve known you for 10 years. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a smile on your face. You know why you're not smiling? Because you know you're not telling the truth."

Trump kept going, calling CNN a "dishonest organization" that should be "ashamed" of Collins.

Collins pointed out she was asking about survivors of sexual abuse.

He's insulted Collins specifically during both his terms in office, most recently in a December Truth Social post -- misspelling her name "Caitlin Collin’s" -- calling her "Stupid and Nasty."

And it's not the first time Trump's attacked a reporter for asking him about the Epstein Files ... he called Bloomberg White House Correspondent Catherine Lucey "piggy" after she  asked him about the files in November.

Representative Jasmine Crockett says she can't divorce the art from the artist ... and that means she straight-up ain't listening to Nicki Minaj tunes anymore.

We spoke to the Democratic congresswoman from the great state of Texas on Tuesday -- and she made it clear she's always been more of a Cardi stan anyway -- but Nicki's foray into right-wing politics has certainly upped her distaste for the "Starships" rapper.

JC says she can't do "sellouts" -- especially not in a moment as politically fraught as this one -- and, she feels that's exactly what NM is, given she's an immigrant cozying up to an administration obsessed with hunting down undocumented immigrants.

President Donald Trump says he's willing to put even more federal resources forward in order to help Savannah Guthrie's missing mother ... and, he says he even plans to call Savannah later in the day.

POTUS answered several questions from reporters Tuesday ... including one about whether he'd consider putting forth more federal help -- the FBI's currently assisting in the investigation -- to find 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie.

The prez says he's fully briefed on the situation in Tucson ... and he's also got a solid relationship with Savannah ... who he plans to call later on today to check in.

Cedric the Entertainer isn’t staying quiet over Donald Trump’s freakout about Trevor Noah’s Epstein Island joke at last night's Grammys ... he's calling out the president for dishing out insults, but not being able to take them!

TMZ caught up with Cedric at LAX Monday, and he says that factoring in the whole Jimmy Kimmel saga, Trump’s tantrum tracks -- pointing out DT has no problem calling people ugly or lobbing abuse left and right ... but the second someone throws that same energy back, he starts flexing his power and influence against them.

Cedric tells us that throwing money around and threatening to sue people into silence is flat-out bullying -- not the tough "Imma show you" take he thinks it is.

President Donald Trump announced the Kennedy Center will be closing for about two years ... in an effort to complete what he described as a "complete rebuilding" of the space.

POTUS announced the news about the performing arts center on Truth Social on Sunday, where he claimed he consulted with various experts about the best path forward for the venue ... and decided it was best to shut it down completely.

Trump wrote "Interruptions with Audiences from the many Events using the Facility" would likely extend the project's duration and added ... "the temporary closure will produce a much faster and higher quality result."

47 described the venue as "a tired, broken, and dilapidated Center, one that has been in bad condition, both financially and structurally for many years."

Trump said financing for the project is already in place ... and declared the Kennedy Center will close on the 4th of July and construction will then begin.

The Kennedy Center's been a touchy subject in recent months ... its board of trustees -- which was overhauled by Trump -- voted to rename the venue the The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts in December. Trump's also the chairman of the Kennedy Center's board of trustees.

The Rock's daughter, Ava, can say whatever she wants now that she's left WWE ... and her first free words were quite liberal indeed ... and directed straight at Donald Trump.

Simone Alexandra Garcia Johnson tweeted, "and now that i can say this with my full chest, [middle finger emoji] ice and that entire administration."

This comes after Ava announced Friday she would not be renewing her contract with WWE, which just expired.

Melania Trump is making serious noise at the box office.

The First Lady's big budget documentary, "Melania," pulled in $7.04 million during its opening weekend, easily beating expectations and marking the largest opening for a non-fiction film in the past decade, according to Deadline.

The debut topped the previous record holder, 2023's "After Death," which opened to $5 million. What makes the win even bigger -- early projections were far more modest. Pre-release estimates had the film opening between $3 million and $5 million, while some analysts predicted an even smaller turnout.

Don Lemon says journalists at CNN, CBS and other news organization need to grow a spine and push back against corporate influences that want to skew news coverage to curry favor with President Trump.

A defiant Don made the call to action Friday on his online show ... admitting he was late after having a busy day fighting federal charges for covering a recent protest.

Don thanked all his friends in the media for reaching out and having his back, but he went a step further and said they need to stand up to corporations that are putting their paws on the news and trying to exert influence and bend the knee to Trump.

The team behind the Melania Trump-focused documentary “Melania” might’ve put some real hard work into the flick ... but it’s getting trashed online by more than a few filmgoers.

The movie’s been review-bombed -- which is when fans share negative reviews for a project in a short amount of time, in case you were wondering -- on movie review platform Letterboxd ... and it holds a score of 1.2 out of 5 stars, despite having only been in theaters for a single day.

Most of the film’s reviews are harsh, and one of the most popular reviews on the movie’s page reads ... “If they showed this on a plane, people would still walk out.”

To be fair, there were a few 5-star reviews for the movie ... a cool 61 out of 3,436.

ICYWW ... the movie, which was directed by Brett Ratner, is centered on the First Lady as she navigates the 20 days leading up to the 2025 Presidential Inauguration -- as well as numerous fittings, apparently. The Kennedy Center premiere on Thursday brought out the likes of Nicki Minaj, Dr. Phil, and Donald Trump himself.

It’s also worth mentioning, Amazon MGM Studios dropped $40 million on the project, and they apparently spent $35 million to promote it, reports The Daily Beast.

Bombshell allegation in the latest Epstein Files document release ... an underage girl claims she was forced to perform oral sex on Donald Trump approximately 35 years ago in New Jersey.

The allegation is from a document in the files that describes a tip that was sent to the feds.

The complaint summary says the feds were told the underage girl was approximately 13-14 years old when the alleged incident occurred, and it says the alleged victim "allegedly bit President Trump while performing oral sex" and was "allegedly hit in the face after she laughed about biting President Trump."

When President Trump invites his underlings to a social event, they show up ... look no further than the premiere of Amazon's new Melania Trump documentary.

The Kennedy Center looked like a Trump cabinet meeting Thursday night ... with a who's-who of Republican elected officials showing up in support of their boss and the First Lady.

Dr. Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, was in the house with his family. Ditto for Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and his wife, Kelly Lary.

Ads for Melania Trump's documentary "Melania" have been getting a lot of attention in L.A. ... but not in a good way. The city's public transit agency has reported a huge rise in vandalism on buses and at stops featuring the First Lady's face.

Defaced with expletives, Adolf Hitler mustaches, and references to Hitler's wife Eva Braun, "Melania" posters are getting tagged at bus stops all over the city, sending LA Metro officials into panic mode.

According to L.A.'s NBC4, the agency is scrambling to reassign buses with "Melania" posters ... bus stops featuring the promos have also been vandalized, though Metro does not oversee the stops.