White House

4:00 PM PT -- As expected, Trump issued a statement via Twitter wishing Omarosa well.

Omarosa and her old boss, Donald Trump, are NOT on the outs even though she's out of the White House -- 'cause they were still chummy Wednesday morning ... TMZ has learned.

A well-placed source at the White House tells us President Trump spoke with Omarosa on the phone Wednesday following her resignation/"firing," depending on who you talk to, from Tuesday night.

We're told O and DT spoke for about an hour, and the conversation was warm and cordial. Our source also tells us the Prez will be issuing a statement -- or probably (most definitely) a tweet -- wishing Omarosa well and saying she'll be missed.

We broke the story ... Omarosa and Trump butted heads over a number of issues in his first year as President, including his handling of Charlottesville, beefing with Rep. Wilson and Roy Moore ... not to mention feuding with Chief of Staff General Kelly over access to Trump.

Our source adds that it was, in fact, Omarosa's decision to leave -- like the White House said at first -- and explains Trump himself was not looking to fire her.

The White House is officially saying Omarosa quietly resigned, but multiple sources tell TMZ there was plenty of drama between her, Donald Trump and his Chief of Staff prior to her departure.

Sources close to Omarosa tell us she started thinking about resigning back in August after the Charlottesville riots, because she disagreed with Trump's handling of the crisis. We're told she took issue with Trump saying there were good people on both sides ... which, of course, included the neo-Nazis.

Our sources in Omarosa's camp say she also didn't appreciate Trump beefing with Rep. Frederica Wilson, or bungling a call with an African-American Gold Star widow. We're told Trump's endorsement of Roy Moore was the last straw.

Now, people in Omarosa's camp say she pulled the trigger on resigning Tuesday night. However, other White House sources tell us she was "fired" by Gen. John Kelly after she tried to get an audience with the Prez following Moore's loss.

Even our Omarosa sources admit she had frequently bumped heads with Kelly. We're told she talked to Trump every other day, and Kelly wasn't happy she had so much access.

Three women accusing President Donald Trump of sexual misconduct are demanding Congress investigate their claims.

Jessica Leeds, Samantha Holvey and Rachel Cooks held a press conference in L.A. Monday -- detailing their alleged experiences with Trump -- and asked Congress take a closer look into their claims.

Among the allegations -- Cooks says Trump forcibly kissed her in 2005, and Leeds claims Trump grabbed her breasts and tried putting his hand up her skirt during a flight to NYC more than 3 decades ago.

The news conference comes one day after U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said anyone claiming they're victims of sexual misconduct should be heard.

You're a fool if you think LaVar Ball and Donald Trump actually hate each other ... 'cause they're just trolling the world for fun -- so says NBA big man Roy Hibbert.

We got Roy at LAX ... and showed him LaVar's new GIF animation of him POSTERIZING the POTUS.

The ex-Laker thought it was pretty cool ... but wasn't about to pretend like there was anything to it.

"I bet they’re best friends," Hibbert told TMZ Sports. "It's playful banter ... they’re probably friends on the low."

Roy might be onto something -- check out how LaVar greeted frenemy Joel Embiid at yesterday's Lakers-76ers game ...

Melania Trump's reaching out to some of her husband's supporters and offering them the first crack at a special 2018 calendar ... for just a small contribution, of course.

This is no ordinary calendar, either ... it's the official RNC calendar featuring photos hand-picked by the First Lady that she hopes will serve as "a reminder of how important the 2018 elections are to the future of our country."

Melania's only asking Trump supporters to chip in 15 bucks for the calendar, too ... to ensure the Prez and the Party have resources to keep racking up the wins.

But if they feel so inclined, supporters can donate way more -- up to $2,700 a month!

Mohamed Hadid isn't happy about President Trump's decision to recognize a new capital in Israel ... and he's hoping violence won't be an outcome.

We got Bella and Gigi Hadid's dad -- who's Palestinian himself -- shortly after Trump announced the U.S. was going to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's new capital, and he calls it a "sad day in my life."

Mohamed says with tensions so high in the area ... he fears more bloodshed.

Gloria Estefan is applauding President Trump for staying home and, for once, not stealing the spotlight from her and several other entertainment legends.

We got Gloria Monday at Reagan National in D.C. after her big night with LL Cool J, Lionel Richie, Norman Lear and Carmen de Lavallade at the Kennedy Center Honors. Normally, sitting Presidents always attend the gala, but Trump bowed up -- just the 4th time that's happened.

Pay close attention to this clip ... it might be the first and last time you see Gloria -- vocal opponent of many Trump policies -- say something positive about POTUS.

See? We can all get along. Even when we're clearly not getting along.

Jay-Z should give Donald Trump a run for his money in 2020 ... so says Congressman Andre Carson.

We got the distinguished gentleman from Indiana in D.C. Thursday, and asked him if he enjoyed Hova's 4:44 tour stop at the Capital One Arena. Carson gushed about the show ... and then took his praise one HUGE step further.

Check it out ... Rep. Carson -- who grew up in a similar environment to Jay-Z -- gives a shout out to Diddy, Damon Dash and Master P ... before anointing Hova a viable candidate for the White House.

Carson for Veep?

2:25 PM PT -- The White House tells TMZ Sports they have not yet received the shoes ... but are currently "trying to track them down."

Donald Trump is officially a Big Baller -- this according to LaVar Ball, who says POTUS ZO2 kicks are in the mail ... on the way to the White House!

"I sent Trump his shoes," LaVar told TMZ Sports at Staples Center after Lakers vs. Warriors. "He should have them -- unless they took 'em!"

Unclear if White House security would let Trump receive the package -- especially with his mortal enemy's name on the return address -- but props to LaVar for following up on his weekend promise.

The BBB founder also threw some shade at Steph Curry before he rode off into the night -- saying the 2-time MVP ain't better than Lonzo Ball or even LaMelo!

Right.

Donald Trump is NOT Time magazine's Person of the Year ... the honor should go to Colin Kaepernick -- that's according to rap star Killer Mike, who says Kaep's a leader and Trump's an "entertainer."

We got Mike out in ATL ... and he told TMZ Sports he gets why Trump's in the running ... but at the same time, POTUS can't hold a candle to Colin.

"We like entertainers. Donald Trump is a successful entrepreneur but essentially he's an entertainer."

Mike says Kaep's an entertainer too in the sense that he's a pro athlete ... but the QB's used his platform to do A LOT more.

"I'm very, very proud of Colin Kaepernick and the stance he's taken. The man's essentially given up his career to bring social awareness to the fact that agents of the state -- police officers -- are killing citizens."

So, the award should be CK all day.

Donald Trump's first National Christmas Tree Lighting is gonna be bigger than Barack Obama's last one -- at least when it comes to the amount taxpayer's gotta spend for it.

Federal docs outlining the government's expenses for this year's tree lighting outside the White House show the total tab will come to $128,424.

That includes $11,452 on the sound system, another $11,972 on ballistic glass to protect the Prez and fam ... and $105,000 for general event management services.

The glass will probably look something like this one from George W. Bush's 2007 lighting.

BTW, the expenses don't include the 40-50 foot tall evergreen, which is usually donated, and is different from the 20-footer Melania and Barron got last week to go inside the White House.

We know you're dying to know -- the expenses for Obama's last tree lighting ran $101,421 and did NOT include a new bulletproof glass purchase.

Donald Trump is going head-to-head with one of the most famous presidents in U.S. history ... in an art auction showdown.

Both Trump and John F. Kennedy will have original artwork on display and up for grabs Dec. 2 at Heritage Auctions' Americana & Political Memorabilia auction. The Prez's piece is a detailed doodle of the NYC skyline ... including sketched-in windows and yellow cabs.

Trump's sketch was donated to a charity in 2005 and is expected to sell for at least $15,000 ... but that's only a fraction of what JFK's expected to fetch.

Kennedy's piece is slightly more sophisticated -- an original oil painting from 1955 signed by the former Prez ... which hung in Robert F. Kennedy's Hickory Hill home for years.

The artwork is believed to be one of just 2 known JFK paintings ... the other ensconced in the Kennedy Library. It's expected to fetch around $50,000.

Michael Rapaport is pissed at Donald Trump -- saying POTUS has forced him to side with one of the people he hates most in this world ... LaVar Ball.

Rap and Ball have been trading shots for months -- with the Hollywood star once famously declaring, "Big Baller Brand shirts look uncomfortable as f**k."

But now with Trump blasting LaVar in the media for not thanking him for getting LiAngelo back from China ... Rapaport is begrudgingly joining Team Ball.

"Donald Trump. You're such a f**k."

"You're gonna take away the pleasure I get from talking sh*t about LaVar Ball?"

Rap says when it comes down to it, he and LaVar are just "talkin' sh*t" -- but Trump's a "threat to society."

Jay-Z took a stand against sexism as he spotted a future POTUS in the middle of his Cleveland concert -- 'cause ya gotta vote for that face! Right?

Jay stopped between songs to address a young girl in the front row Sunday night -- sweetly reminding her she can grow up to be anything she wants. It was a super cute moment, as he delivered a serious message, telling fans sexism is a bigger problem in America than racism.

While that might be debatable -- no one was arguing with him about the young fan's potential to make it to the White House.

Herschel Walker says he's always been a huge Marshawn Lynch fan ... until Beast Mode dropped the ultimate diss on America this past weekend.

"To stand for the Mexico anthem and sit for the American anthem is total disrespect," Herschel told TMZ Sports in NYC. "Lost respect for you ... that’s just not right.”

Walker says disagreeing with Donald Trump is fine -- but clearly thinks the way Marshawn expressed it is outta line. As the former NFL superstar's told us in the past, he believes taking the fight to Congress AFTER the season is the way to go.

The Trumps are going full Griswold for the holidays, 'cause they just got a Christmas tree even Chevy Chase might consider too big. Might.

Melania and Barron Trump stood by Monday as the White House holiday tree was delivered by horse-drawn carriage. We're told it comes in at a whopping 19.5 feet in length.

The tree is a Wisconsin-grown Balsam fir provided by the Chapman family of Silent Night Evergreens. They won a national contest for the honor this year.

It's tradition for the First Lady to decorate the tree based on a theme of her choosing ... and Melania seems to be giving her first one some serious thought.

No pressure!