White House

6:37 PM PT -- CNN has come to the defense of Acosta, saying the White House's actions are a threat to our democracy and calling Sanders a liar.

In a statement, CNN said the Trump Administration's decision to strip Acosta's press credential "was done in retaliation for his challenging questions at today's press conference. In an explanation, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders lied. She provided fraudulent accusations and cited an incident that never happened. This unprecedented decision is a threat to our democracy and the country deserves better."

5:03 PM PT -- The White House has pulled Acosta's press credential. Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders released a series of tweets, saying, "President Trump believes in a free press and expects and welcomes tough questions of him and his Administration. We will, however, never tolerate a reporter placing his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern."

She continues, "Contrary to CNN’s assertions there is no greater demonstration of the President’s support for a free press than the event he held today. Only they would attack the President for not supporting a free press in the midst of him taking 68 questions from 35 different reporters."

Finally, she says, "The fact that CNN is proud of the way their employee behaved is not only disgusting, it‘s an example of their outrageous disregard for everyone, including young women, who work in this Administration. As a result of today’s incident, the White House is suspending the hard pass of the reporter involved until further notice."

Donald Trump went for the jugular Wednesday ... calling a CNN reporter unfit for his job and a "terrible person" ... and it didn't end there.

CNN reporter Jim Acosta asked Trump during a news conference about the President's claim there was an impending invasion by people in the refugee caravan.

It got hot almost immediately ... Acosta pressed Trump, and POTUS erupted in anger.

The President tried to shut Acosta down, ordering him to put his mic down, but the next person to ask a question was NBC's Peter Alexander, who defended Acosta. That further infuriated the President.

And, it didn't end there. American Urban Radio Networks correspondent April Ryan tried to ask a question and Trump rudely shut her down.

And then, there's Yamiche Alcindor from PBS NewsHour, who asked Trump about his comment during the campaign that he's a nationalist. When she said that seemed to embolden white nationalists, Trump said she was asking racist questions.

BTW ... another amazing moment -- Trump was asked if he'd comply with the inevitable demand by the House to release his tax returns, and the Prez essentially said it was too complicated for Congress to understand.

Beto O'Rourke is steeped in politics, but that doesn't mean he has to be politically correct, because he dropped the F-bomb during his concession speech and it may actually work to his benefit down the line.

Beto fired up the crowd during his concession speech and boasted his campaign wasn't contaminated by political action committees. A lot of times, politicians try to sound off-the-cuff but it's actually very, very studied ... in his case, if he planned to drop the F-bomb you coulda fooled us.

He may be down, but he ain't out ... there's a groundswell to make him the guy to challenge Trump in 2020.

Paul Rodriguez -- one of the original Latin Kings of Comedy -- says he's sticking his neck out on this one, but is willing to take the heat ... he's a fan of Donald Trump, although he's had it up to here with his antics.

We got Paul Monday at LAX and asked if he felt his jokes needed to reflect the political climate with Trump openly attacking the Hispanic community ... especially the caravan of migrants heading toward the southern border.

Surprisingly, Paul says no. In fact, he tells us he's actually a Republican ... and mostly backs DT, aside from some harsh language. Check out his explanation on what policies of Trump's he supports and why -- it's pretty enlightening.

Speaking of which ... Paul's got some thoughts on that too, saying we live in a time where one "bad" opinion puts you up on the cross faster than you can say ...

The O'Jays are reaching out to President Trump -- perhaps repairing their fractured relationship -- and giving him permission to use ONE of their songs at his rallies. Yes, it's a total troll.

We got Eddie Levert and Walter Williams -- OG members of the soul group -- out in NYC and asked what they made of Rihanna ripping into Trump for playing "Don't Stop the Music" at a recent rally. She later sent him a cease and desist letter.

Eddie and Walter get RiRi's outrage ... having already fired off their own warnings to Trump in 2016 for using "For the Love of Money" -- the old 'Apprentice' theme -- during his campaign. They did the same for their hit, "Love Train," and you gotta hear them describe what he wanted to do with it!

That's all water under the bridge, though, because Ed and Walt tell us they're willing to let him crank up their newest track, "Above the Law," whenever he wants ... even during his rousing rallies.

If he only heard the title, we suspect POTUS might be all in for using the song. However, we're guaranteeing he'll pass ... IF he listens to the lyrics or watches the music video.

Hint: It's not exactly 45-friendly.

Trump and The O'Jays -- they've come a loooong way since "The Apprentice."

When it comes to President Trump firing off "Game of Thrones" memes to announce U.S. foreign policy in Iran, a "Shahs of Sunset" star says ... hate the messenger, but LOVE the message.

We ran into Reza Farahan Friday on Rodeo Drive in Bev Hills and, seeing as how he was born in Tehran, we had to get his take on Trump's "Sanctions Are Coming" tweet. Perhaps surprisingly, Reza fully supports POTUS and his hard line with Iran ... but there's a catch.

Watch the clip, you can tell it pains Reza to no end to say he's lockstep with Trump -- but says he's trying to focus on the big picture for his friends and family in Iran.

But, don't get it twisted ... he HATES the 'GoT' ripoff the White House used to announce the sanctions. Mostly because it's incredibly insensitive to the very people he claims to be helping with the sanctions!

Donald Trump used "Game of Thrones" to warn he was about to impose sanctions on Iran -- and while his supporters might've been amused ... HBO definitely is not.

A rep for the cable network tells TMZ ... "We were not aware of this messaging and would prefer our trademark not be misappropriated for political purposes."

In case you missed it, President Trump tweeted out a meme of himself with a 'GoT'-esque background and font that read ... "Sanctions are Coming."

It's an obvious nod to the hit series' oft-repeated line, "Winter is Coming" ... and it looks like he was trying to portray himself as Jon Snow (or maybe the Mad King?).

President Trump just drew the line in the sand ... if the immigrants who are marching to the U.S. border throw rocks at our troops they will be shot.

Trump said throwing rocks is like shooting firearms. He noted some of the immigrants in the caravan threw rocks at Mexican troops at the Mexican border, and it hurt some of the troops.

Trump says he hopes our troops won't have to shoot, but he made it clear ... if they throw rocks -- to him, that's a deadly weapon and our soldiers can react with firepower.

The marchers are around 900 miles from the U.S. border.

10/31 -- Candace says she never once said Kanye designed the t-shirts for BLEXIT ... calling it a lie. She added, "This is a lie that seems to have made its way around the world; a lie I would like to again correct for the record. Kanye was completely right to feel used in that regard and as I have done personally, I would like to publicly apologize to him for any undue stress or pain the effort to correct that rumor has caused him, his business relationships, or his family. He simply never designed them."

Candace also said Kanye's tweets were "aimed at me and only me, rightfully, for my personal failings."

4:15 PM PT -- Kanye contacted us to make it clear he did not mention Donald Trump in his tweets, and he's getting out of politics altogether.

As for being "used" ... he says he was specifically referencing Blexit, and that's it.

Kanye West says he's been used by people to spread political messages and he's now done with it.

Kanye just fired off a series of tweets apparently distancing himself from politics. He said, "My eyes are now wide open and now realize I've been used to spread messages I don't believe in. I am distancing myself from politics and completely focusing on being creative."

Kanye all but says the culprit is ultra-conservative Candace Owens. He said, "I introduced Candace to the person who made the logo and they didn't want their name on it so she used mine. I never wanted any association with Blexit. I have nothing to do with it."

Owens had said, "Blexit [black exit from Democratic Party] is a renaissance and I'm blessed to say that this logo, these colors, were created by my dear friend and fellow superhero -- Kanye West."

Ye went on to thank his family and community for "supporting my ACTUAL beliefs and my vision for a better world." He also expressed compassion for people seeking asylum and parents fighting to protect their children from violence and war.

And, he said he supports common-sense gun laws.

Judge Mathis is ripping into President Trump for threatening to withdraw citizenship from children born in the U.S. ... all in the name of keeping Republicans in power heading into the midterm elections.

We got hizzoner Tuesday in NYC, where he gave us his take on Trump's plans to issue an executive order to end the automatic granting of U.S. citizenship to babies born in the U.S. from non-citizens.

Mathis told us he sees right through the tactic, and calls out POTUS for inflaming the immigration issue one week before election day. The judge seems to think most Americans will see things his way come Nov. 6.

He's not alone -- Trump's plan got plenty of immediate backlash, because it's a direct challenge to the 14th amendment ... "All persons born or naturalized in the United States ... are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."

Ben & Jerry's ice cream is diving deep into politics ... with an ice cream scooper!!

The famous ice cream company unveiled an anti-Trump flavored ice cream Tuesday morning in D.C. dubbed "Pecan Resist." Because we know you're wondering -- "Pecan Resist" is chocolate ice cream with white and dark fudge chunks, pecans, walnuts and fudge-covered almonds. Yum.

B&J's says, "This flavor supports groups creating a more just and equitable nation for us all, and who are fighting President Trump's regressive agenda."

The company also said it could not be silent in the face of Trump's policies that attack and attempt to roll back decades of progress on racial and gender equity. The company cited its fight against Trump's administration to roll back LGBT rights and its refusal to battle climate change.

BTW ... we ran into Ben & Jerry on their way out, and to say they were excited about the new flavor would be a total understatement.

Anthony Scaramucci is chalking up all the recent finger-pointing at President Trump to liberals being pissed they can't beat the guy, especially ahead of the midterms.

We got the Mooch out Monday at Reagan National Airport in D.C., and he was in rare form -- telling us Democrats are desperate heading into election day. He thinks they're trying everything they can to make DT look bad -- including blaming him for the latest threats and acts of political violence.

Still, Scaramucci says IF he were still in the White House he'd suggest Trump do more uniting and less dividing across party lines -- but he admits it would be a futile effort. Trump is who he is, and ain't about to change ... in Mooch's opinion.

And, if that wasn't enough unabashed Trump-defending ... the Mooch takes it one step further by parroting his old boss almost word for word on the "swamp" that is D.C.

Sarah Palin has an answer for stopping mass shootings in America ... and it has nothing to do with restricting gun sales or getting more weapons in the hands of law enforcement.

We got Sarah Monday at LAX and asked about the deadly attack at a Pittsburgh synagogue, and what can be done to prevent domestic terrorism ... and Sarah tells us it's all about religion -- or lack thereof.

Check out the clip ... Sarah preaches about driving out evil by worshiping God, telling us why religion will be way more effective than protesting or screaming into the Twittersphere.

President Trump's call for arming synagogues after the mass shooting in Pittsburgh really is NOT a crazy idea ... so says Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, one of the country's most prominent Jewish leaders.

Shmuley -- who's been dubbed "America's Rabbi" and a rabbi to the stars -- tells us he completely agrees with DT's suggestion that armed security should be in place at places of worship after a gunman killed 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue Saturday.

There's a catch though, according to Shmuley. He says beefing up security at synagogues across the U.S.A. ain't gonna be cheap, and Uncle Sam's gotta chip in to make it happen.

Even more troubling ... he tells us synagogues everywhere are already considering moves to protect themselves in the wake of the anti-Semitic attack. He goes on to condemn social media posts made by the suspected shooter, Robert Bowers, illustrating his hatred of Jews.

Boston Red Sox pitcher Heath Hembree has already made up his mind -- he WILL be visiting the White House with the team ... telling TMZ Sports, "Hell yeah! I f*ck with Trump!"

Heath was leaving Nightingale nightclub after the Red Sox won Game 5 of the World Series -- and he was in a great mood.

Though it's interesting, when people were asking him questions about baseball, he went silent -- only talking about President Trump.

When asked what he liked about Trump, the 29-year-old South Carolina native told us, "Everything!"

Trump himself commented on the World Series this weekend -- taking to Twitter to rip Dodgers manager Dave Roberts for making a pitching change in Game 4 that ultimately led to a Dodgers loss.

Trump has yet to tweet a congratulatory message to the Red Sox.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred previously said he expects the winning team to visit Trump -- despite the fact Sox manager Alex Cora publicly criticized the President just last month.

Paul Pierce is glad Villanova is refusing to visit Trump's White House to celebrate their NCAA basketball title ... saying the tradition is dumb and overrated.

Nova's coach Jay Wright, announced Thursday the team would not visit 1600 Pennsylvania this year -- as NCAA winning teams have traditionally done for years.

In fact, Villanova visited Obama's White House after winning the title 2016 -- but Wright explained, "Two years ago it was the experience of a lifetime for all of us. It’s just a different time."

Fast forward to Thursday night outside Mastro's Steakhouse in Bev Hills -- where we asked Pierce (who visited George W. Bush's White House with the Celtics in '08) if Nova was making a mistake.

"I think that's overrated," Pierce explained ... "Why you gotta visit the White House? You got your trophy, you won your championship."

Paul tells us it's a digital time -- so a simple congratulatory tweet should more than do the job.

Then, he started questioning why the tradition even started in the first place -- strongly implying the tradition is just dumb and unnecessary.

"I don't know why we go to the White House," Pierce said ... "Why did people even start going there?"

BTW ... when Pierce went to the White House a decade ago -- he called it "truly an honor" and even brought gifts for No. 43.

John F. Kennedy fans can hit the jackpot with tons of personal items belonging to the famous Prez ... assuming they have a small fortune to spare.

The guys over at RR Auction have a bunch of JFK's stuff including his Harvard cardigan sweater and assassination-related items ... like an original window sash from the Texas School Book Depository and a Lee Harvey Oswald handwritten letter.

JFK's sweater is expected to fetch upwards of $30k. The window sash could go for $25k. It has its original glass and dark green paint just as it did on November 22, 1963 ... the day Oswald opened fire from the book depository, killing President Kennedy.

Oswald's one-page, handwritten letter was addressed to his mother ... but intended for his wife. It's one of the items for more frugal bidders ... expected to go for a paltry $6,500.