White House

Donald Trump has completely turned on Steve Bannon -- saying the guy has lost his mind ... this after Bannon called a meeting the President's son took with Russians "treason."

Bannon was quoted by author Michael Wolff in a sweeping new book detailing the alleged chaos from Trump's first year in office as saying Don Jr.'s meeting in 2016 was treasonous.

Trump responded Wednesday in an official statement saying ... "Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my Presidency. When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind."

The Prez goes on to say that Bannon had little to do with his historic victory, and that while Bannon claims to be at war with the media ... he often leaked from the White House.

Trump says Bannon helped people -- presumably Wolff -- write phony books with his insights, which Trump says were actually limited.

A guy who says Michelle Obama invited him to a taping of "The Voice" is suing NBC after claiming the network treated him like a criminal, and now he struggles to find work.

Greg Duncan says The Office of the First Lady back in 2016 invited him to a taping honoring military veterans. He says he went through 2 security screens and an agent from the U.S. Secret Service told him to enjoy the show.

But in docs -- obtained by TMZ -- Duncan says he was later approached by NBC's security and Sheriffs and told to scram. He says no explanation was given and only that the Secret Service ordered him gone.

Duncan says he had a meeting set for June 17, 2016 with the Secret Service to get the low-down on why he was booted. Problem is ... Duncan, who says he's a commander with the U.S. Coast Guard, says he showed up to NBC's lot the day before for a commercial shoot but was told he's permanently banned.

Sarah Silverman is sad Sen. Al Franken was forced to resign, and pissed President Trump hasn't had the decency to do the same.

We got Sarah at LAX Monday and asked her about her old pal who officially stepped down Tuesday after announcing he'd do so in December. She wanted to defend him, and tried her best ... but in the end said we have to respect the women who've accused Franken of sexual misconduct.

Michelle Obama and daughter Malia got some extra R&R during their Hawaiian vacation by hitting up a local yoga studio.

The former First Lady Wednesday was spotted at Corepower Yoga in Kailua, Hawaii where the Obamas have been vacationing for the holidays. Michelle looks incredibly fit -- as usual -- and visibly happy. That million dollar smile says it all.

Although Malia joined her mom... there was no sign of Barack or Sasha. As for the family as a whole, splitting your time between yoga classes and the beach doesn't seem all that bad.

Namaste!

Scottie Pippen has President Obama's back when it comes to basketball -- saying #44 is absolutely RIGHT picking Michael Jordan over LeBron James.

Remember, Obama went with MJ over LBJ during a rapid fire question session with Prince Harry -- saying he "loves" LeBron ... but ultimately he's gotta go with His Airness.

Pippen agrees ... and referred us back to a recent interview where he told us HE'S better than LeBron too!

"LeBron ain't better than me until he gets 6 titles."

Prince Harry did what American journalists have been itching to do for a year ... interview President Barack Obama post presidency.

Harry was guest hosting the "Today" radio show Wednesday and played his interview with Obama, part of which was a lightning round of pretty funny questions, including ...

-- Boxers or briefs

-- LeBron or Jordan

-- Aretha or Tina

-- Kim or Khloe (this one's interesting)

-- Harry or William

-- "Suits" or "The Good Wife"

-- The Rock or Chris Rock (again, interesting)

The interview was recorded in September during the Invictus Games when the 2 became buds.

Obama also talked about the dangers of a president hopping on social media ... he didn't mention Trump by name, but it was pretty obvious.

Senator Orrin Hatch is sticking to the story he told earlier this week -- that Donald Trump could be the greatest Prez ever -- and now he's even doubling down on that.

We got the Utah senator on Capitol Hill Thursday, the day after Trump and nearly all congressional Republicans did a victory lap for the new tax bill.

During the celebration, Hatch said Trump could possibly be at the helm of the greatest presidency in American history. So, we followed up ... and this time, he says theres some BIG names that 45 can match.

Senator Cory Booker's not hiding his disdain for the GOP tax bill, which he says just pulled a Tonya Harding on America, and especially his home state.

We got the distinguished gentleman from NJ on Capitol Hill shortly after the House gave final approval to President Trump's tax overhaul -- and he says this vote wasn't about politics. He says even Republicans from his state voted against the bill.

Tomi Lahren thinks Omarosa has nine lives when it comes to President Trump.

We got the FOX News contributor at LAX Thursday and she thinks the only thing Omarosa's unceremonious exit proves is it's never a dull moment at the White House these days. As for the future ... she's betting the Prez keeps his former adviser close.

Omarosa's out at the White House, but she's not on the outs with government, and in fact, is already eyeing other federal positions ... TMZ has learned.

As we reported ... Omarosa and President Trump say they're on good terms after her exit from the administration, and we're told she's optimistic their relationship will help her down the road.

Sources close to the situation tell us ... O believes she'd be a good candidate for an undersecretary position. On the more ambitious side, she's eyeing an ambassador role with Nigeria ... due to her heritage on her father's side.

We're told she's also open to a gig in her new home state of Florida ... as a Senior Regional Appointment Person. It's basically a local liaison for Trump's administration. Even if she bolts from government altogether, Omarosa wouldn't go too far because plan B is pursuing a lobbyist gig.

Bottom line ... she's caught the political bug.

CNN says it's gotten to the bottom of Anderson Cooper's Trump-bashing tweet ... and all signs point to a forgetful assistant.

The mystery was cleared up Wednesday when the network said the message was sent from Cooper's assistant in NYC, while Anderson was in D.C.

CNN says the assistant, who's been on the job for 10 years, left his phone unlocked and unattended at the gym, and someone grabbed it and fired off the tweet. He's apparently the only other person besides Anderson with access to the account.

As we reported ... Anderson's verified Twitter account replied to Trump early Wednesday morning -- calling 45 a "tool!" and a "Pathetic loser."

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!