White House

Alice Marie Johnson stole the show during President Trump's State of the Union speech -- but turns out that's not her only show.

The recently-freed prisoner told us about her book deal, her movie deal and her big plans for the future on TMZ Live. And, check out today's show, because turns out she's already dealing with the benefits and pitfalls of being a celebrity.

And, speaking of celebs ... she's clearly become good buds with Kim Kardashian, who is, in large part, responsible for her freedom.

One of the 13 people to receive a special invite to the 2019 State of the Union Address by Donald and Melania Trump took advantage of it in the best way ... by catching up on ZZZs.

Joshua Trump -- the 11-year-old boy who was reportedly bullied by his classmates for his last name -- seemed to fall asleep during the President's speech while he was reiterating his desire for a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border and called illegal immigration "an urgent national crisis."

It's unclear how long Joshua dozed off, but the shots of him snoozing were enough to make Trump opponents hail the kid as a hero.

The Delaware sixth-grader was invited to the SOTU by the First Lady after his mom told reporters his classmates cursed at him and called him an “idiot” and “stupid” for sharing the President’s last name. The bullying prompted his family to pull him from school and begin homeschooling.

As you know, Melania's been an advocate for anti-bullying as part of her "Be Best" campaign.

Van Jones wants to give President Trump credit for his State of the Union Address, but he can hardly bring himself to do it ... because he says POTUS also talked way too much crap on immigrants.

We got Van on Capitol Hill Tuesday night after the SOTU and the CNN commentator summed up the night like this -- Trump served a "nice bowl of Kool-Aid with some bird poop in it."

Translation: Trump's nice speech about criminal justice reform was ruined by his rhetoric on immigrants.

Van said he was touched by the compassion Trump showed for Americans wronged by the criminal justice system, and particularly how he praised Alice Marie Johnson, who Trump commuted last summer.

But, Van was NOT down with how POTUS dehumanized immigrants and justifying taking babies away from their mothers at the border.

O.J. Simpson has great memories of hanging out with Donald Trump -- who he calls a "fun guy" -- but he's got a warning for him ... messing with Roger Stone might get ya impeached.

The ex-con-turned-political pundit, was in Las Vegas today when a photog asked him about the President's State of the Union address. Simpson seemed wistful about his days partying with his "buddy," but suggests Trump's totally changed now that he's POTUS.

Then, the topic turned to impeachment ... which Simpson used as a way to tee off on Stone. He recalled his own run-in with the FBI -- a 2001 raid on his Florida home -- and said Stone's got no reason to bitch about his arrest.

Simpson actually laughed off Stone comparing himself to Osama bin Laden -- and told him to quit crying.

Beto O'Rourke is on the verge of making a decision on entering the 2020 Presidential race ... and he went face-to-face with one of the biggest influencers in America ... Oprah!!!

Beto told O during an interview Tuesday for 'SuperSoul Conversations,' he's been thinkin' about running for Prez and he'll decide whether to run before the end of this month.

Beto also told a funny story about a recent conversation with Barack Obama, strongly hinting they talked about running for Prez.

The Democrat also told Oprah, "I'm so excited at the prospect of being able to play that role."

We got Beto rolling into the interview in New York City, but he was mum about his Presidential plans ... but his facial expressions were interesting.

As you know ... Beto got a ton of support and built a national following during his U.S. Senate campaign, before ultimately falling short to Ted Cruz ... and everyone has been talking about Beto possibly challenging President Trump for the White House.

Stay tuned ...

Originally Published -- 3:49 PM PST

The count is up to two Patriots players who say they will NOT visit the White House to meet Donald Trump -- with a third leaning heavily toward no.

Star safety Devin McCourty told the Associated Press while returning to New England on Monday with the Lombardi Trophy that he will not visit No. 45 if the Pats elect to go.

His twin brother, star corner Jason McCourty, was a little less committal ... but still seems like he'll follow his bro's lead and avoid 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. as well.

"I haven’t thought about it, but I highly doubt it," Jason said.

Of course, New England safety Duron Harmon has already pulled out of the possible event ... telling TMZ Sports after the Super Bowl, "They don't want me in the White House."

New England Patriots safety Duron Harmon -- one of the key players in the Super Bowl -- says he will NOT be joining the team to visit Donald Trump ... explaining, "They don't want me in the White House."

Harmon was a STUD on Sunday night -- stepping in when Patrick Chung went down with an injury and making two of the biggest plays of the game.

First, he broke up what would have been a TD pass to L.A. Rams WR Brandin Cooks in the 4th quarter -- and later on in the game, he was the guy who forced Jared Goff to throw that final interception.

After the game, we saw Harmon leaving Mercedes-Benz Stadium with his son -- and they were TURNED UP!!

Duron had big celebration plans -- he was looking forward to hanging out with Snoop, Cardi B and Meek Mill -- but he ain't making the trip to Washington D.C.

Harmon said "it would be dope" to follow the lead of the Golden State Warriors and visit Barack Obama instead.

He's not the only one with strong feelings about the President -- Tom Brady didn't make the last Patriots trip to the White House after his wife, Gisele, publicly criticized Trump.

President Trump has been keeping up on the news about the Jussie Smollett attack, and says it's horrible.

The President spoke Thursday morning from the Oval Office and when a reporter asked him about the "Empire" star's case, he replied, "That I can tell you is horrible. I've seen it ... last night. It doesn't get worse, as far as I'm concerned."

It was a pretty brief response ... he didn't elaborate on any details of the case.

Remember, Jussie says his attackers yelled, "MAGA country" as they fled after beating him, pouring bleach on him and putting a rope around his neck.

Unfortunately, Trump was not asked specifically about the MAGA remark.

Roger Stone touched down in D.C. looking fly ahead of his arraignment on federal charges, and he definitely had jumpsuit fashion on the brain -- but it ain't what you think.

We got President Trump's former campaign adviser at Reagan National Airport Monday, the day before he'll appear in front of a judge, and asked how he thought prison garb would suit him -- especially compared to his usual snazzy outfits.

Stone scoffed at the idea that he'd be wearing orange anytime soon, but he is embracing stripes.

As we reported ... Roger's homes in Florida and New York were raided by authorities last week when he was arrested and indicted on a slew of charges related to Robert Mueller's Russia investigation -- including false statements, witness tampering and obstruction.

He doesn't seem too concerned with those allegations, telling us he will plead not guilty and he has nothing to hide. As for whether he'll turn against Trump ... check out his answer.

Patricia Arquette's seemingly out-of-place shout-out to Robert Mueller during her SAG speech wasn't out of place at all, 'cause she says it was ALL from the heart.

We got Patricia Monday fresh on the heels of her big Sunday night at the 25th SAG Awards -- where she thanked the Special Counsel during her acceptance speech for Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series. She told us she was just trying to express her true feeling ... relief.

The actress says Mueller is doing the country a huge service by investigating the Trump campaign and potential cooperation with Russians to interfere in the 2016 election. She thinks the probe has everyone -- on both sides of the aisle -- feeling some sense of reassurance.

Our photog asks if she thinks Roger Stone's recent arrest and indictment is the last shoe to drop for Trump and co. but, like many of us, she's not too sure at this point.

Boston Red Sox star Mookie Betts is sitting out a visit to the White House to celebrate his team's World Series win.

According to the Boston Globe, Betts was asked about the trip to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Saturday night -- which is currently scheduled for May -- and he reportedly said, "I won't be going there. I decided not to." He didn't elaborate beyond that, but he joins at least one other Sox player skipping it ... third baseman Rafael Devers also said he'd be a no-show.

FWIW ... Betts is the American League MVP, and arguably the best player on the Sox's roster. It's kind of a big deal in baseball if one of the best of the best doesn't wanna meet with President Trump.

Three other Red Sox players are reportedly on the fence, but the rest of the team has expressed interest in meeting with the Prez. The team was supposed to head out there in February, but it was pushed back to May because of the government shutdown.

Red Sox President Sam Kennedy said he didn't feel it was appropriate to be celebrating at the White House while so many federal employees were going without a paycheck and struggling.

6:02 PM PT -- Stone is now stumping for money, because he says he can't pay off his mounting legal bills without help from the public.

Stone says he's facing $2 million in potential legal fees, and plugs a website where people can donate money to help him pay for his defense.

Stone also says he needs money to pay for security for him and his family, because he says he gets 4 to 5 death threats a week and gets harassed in public.

9:40 AM PT -- Stone just greeted a group of fans -- and haters -- telling them he'll plead not guilty to the charges.

8:47 AM PT -- Stone was just released on a $250,000 bond. Interestingly, he threw up the infamous Nixon double peace sign as he walked out.

Stone worked on Prez Nixon's '72 campaign, and also has a back tattoo of the President's face.

Roger Stone ain't having a TGIF kinda day -- FBI agents pounded on his door before sunrise and arrested President Trump's ex-campaign adviser.

Stone was arrested around 6 AM Friday at his house in Fort Lauderdale after being indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller. Armed agents in bulletproof vests surrounded Stone's home and hauled him off ... reportedly in his pajamas. His apartment in Manhattan was also raided.

Stone's been charged with 7 counts -- 5 counts of false statements, one count of witness tampering and one count of obstruction of an official proceeding.

As you know, Mueller's team has been investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election, and Stone has previously acknowledged communicating with Guccifer 2.0 during the campaign, who intelligence officials believe was a Twitter account operated by Russia to hack Democratic emails.

Stone's also been linked to WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange, who he publicly praised after the hacked emails were released. Stone's denied any contact with Russia or WikiLeaks since the election.

Stone's arrest isn't entirely a surprise -- especially to him ... he said in May he was prepared to be indicted, and claimed Mueller might do it in an effort to silence him.

If you're keeping track, this makes 5 associates of the Prez who have been busted by Mueller ... following Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn, Rick Gates and George Papadopoulos. His former lawyer, Michael Cohen, separately pled guilty to tax evasion and campaign finance violations.

Stone's expected to be arraigned Friday in federal court in Ft. Lauderdale.

Originally Published -- 6:43 AM PST

President Trump and the Democrats have reached a deal to end the government shutdown and reopen the government ... for 3 weeks.

The Prez announced the deal Friday during a press conference in front of the White House ... ending the shutdown that had dragged on for an unprecedented 35 days.

The deal does not include funding for Trump's beloved border wall ... and the temporary end to the shutdown comes as thousands of federal workers missed another paycheck during the longest government shutdown in history.

The timing of the deal comes after increased urgency to fund the government following Friday's decision by the Federal Aviation Administration to temporarily halt flights into and out of LaGuardia Airport in NYC because of staffing shortages as a result of the shutdown.

They boycotted #45 ... but the Golden State Warriors got LOTS of love for #44 -- with the entire team meeting with Barack Obama on Thursday before taking the court against the Wizards.

Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and the rest of the squad met with President Obama at his Washington D.C. office ... and then posed for a group photo afterward.

Unclear what they all talked about -- but after the game, Durant told the media, "It was amazing."

Draymond described the meeting this way to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne -- "A private team meeting, team event, it was good."

Of course, the Warriors famously boycotted the White House after winning the NBA Championship in 2017 ... after visiting Obama in 2016 and 2015.

Durant previously told TMZ Sports, "We don't f*ck with [Trump]."

They DO, however, like Nancy Pelosi ... the Speaker of the House not only attended the Warriors vs. Wizards game on Thursday -- she also met with players after the game, including Draymond.

By the way, the Warriors won the game 126 to 118.

Kanye West says he plans to run for President in the 2024 election, and it seems like he's got at least one big supporter who can't wait for his White House bid ... Khloe Kardashian!!!

Khloe and big sis Kourtney Kardashian were filming scenes for "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" Thursday afternoon at Topanga Canyon Mall ... and Khloe showed off a new baseball cap pushing Yeezy for Prez.

Forget Kanye's beloved MAGA hat ... looks like Khloe is jumping in on the political hat game with her "Kanye For President" lid.

As you know ... Kanye is super close with President Trump, and Ye started the new year by teasing his 2024 presidential run.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is ready and willing to listen to President Trump's State of the Union Address when it's appropriate ... but she's not going to shake his hand.

We got AOC on Capitol Hill Wednesday night -- before Trump capitulated to Nancy Pelosi and delayed the State of the Union Address -- and she emphasized it's high time for POTUS to reopen the government and get federal workers their paychecks. Once he does that, she says she'll be present in the House Chamber for his SOTU ... but don't expect her to extend her hand to him.