White House

The true "stable genius" might not be President Trump ... instead it's the people cashing in on 45's latest catchphrase.

According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, 3 people have already applied for rights to slap "stable genius" all over apparel. Problem is ... only one can own the rights to put it on clothes.

We spoke to Jeremy Joseph, the second guy to submit his application, who told us he jumped at the chance because he thought Trump's "unintended irony" could be a powerful statement.

The USPTO handles applications on a first-come, first-serve basis, so Jeremy might be S.O.L. if the applicant before him is approved. The third applicant wants a "stable genius covfefe" trademark for a coffee line ... so he's not competing with the other 2.

Oprah Winfrey was hell-bent on changing the world and easing racial tension even as a teen at East Nashville High School, according to Gary Holt, who was student body Prez when O was veep.

We spoke to Gary at his home in Knoxville, and he had nothing but rave reviews of O's time in office ... including her successful plan to organize a multiracial band to play at prom.

Remember it was 1971, fresh off the Civil Rights movement, and just 3 years after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated -- so, no small feat for Oprah and Gary.

Oprah Winfrey might not be a politician, but she's got experience as president ... and she even won the popular vote!!!

No surprise here, but TMZ has learned Oprah was super active in student government and extracurricular activities at Tennessee's East Nashville High School where she graduated in 1971.

According to her yearbook, O was president of 2 different clubs during her time in H.S. -- the Drama Club and the National Forensics League -- and served as VP of the student council her senior year. She was also on the Honor Society.

And just like nowadays, Oprah had the admiration of her peers, too ... being voted "most popular" her senior year.

Wonder if Trump still thinks he can beat her after hearing that?

Former RNC Chairman Michael Steele's so fed up with President Trump, it sounds like he's ready to switch parties -- or maybe he just loves Oprah Winfrey running for Prez that much.

Steele was on Capitol Hill Wednesday when we asked if he'd be willing to work for O should she take the plunge and run in 2020. Steele laughed off the question, and never said no. In fact, he made it crystal clear he's intrigued.

Assuming Oprah would run as a Democrat, it's interesting to see Steele embrace her as much as he does here. Then again ... he REALLY doesn't like 45.

James Carville reacted with sounds and not words when he heard President Trump claimed he could beat Oprah's butt in 2020.

We got the man who engineered Bill Clinton's White House victory at LAX Tuesday and asked about Oprah's possible presidential run ... he chuckles, but seems down with it. The "Ragin' Cajun" tells us he can't help her, though ... he's too old for that stuff.

Another topic that tickled James' fancy was ex-sheriff Joe Arpaio -- who's running for Arizona's Senate seat. No surprise ... Carville has an opinion.

6:35 PM PT -- A spokesperson for BuzzFeed News tells us the dossier is "the subject of active investigations by Congress and intelligence agencies" and is obviously of public interest. The rep says, "This is not the first time Trump's personal lawyer has attacked the free press, and we look forward to defending our First Amendment rights in court."

One of Donald Trump's attorneys claims the so-called "dossier" that attempts to tie him and the Prez to Russian officials is total BS ... so much so, he's suing the news outlet that posted it.

Michael Cohen is suing BuzzFeed over its Jan. 10, 2017 article headlined, "These Reports Allege Trump Has Deep Ties to Russia." The reports, purportedly gathered by a former British intelligence agent, were referred to as the infamous dossier.

According to the suit, obtained by TMZ, Cohen is particularly pissed about the dossier claim he used his wife's and her father's Russian ties -- she was born in the Ukraine -- in order to set up a meeting with a Russian property developer. Cohen denies the allegations.

He also refutes the dossier report claiming he met with Russian officials while in the Czech Republic. Cohen says he's never even been to the country.

In docs, Cohen says even though BuzzFeed admitted the "collection of memos" contained unverified information ... it still defamed him merely by republishing the bogus information.

Oprah Winfrey better pony up the dough if she wants to own Oprah2020.com for her possible presidential run ... because the dude who's got it wants a huge chunk o' change to unload it.

We spoke to the guy who bought the domain around 2 years ago in 2016 who tells us it came cheap -- but he's willing to sell it for a whole lot more -- at least 6 figures.

The man tells us he bought the domain when he realized Donald Trump had the potential to upset Hillary Clinton. Figuring another huge celeb could run in the future, he put his money on Oprah and pounced.

While the owner of the domain says he's yet to be contacted by anyone from Oprah's team to buy it ... he's all ears.

And if you're wondering, the guy says Oprah's got a chance for his vote, too. Get ready, Donald.

Gayle King is doubling down ... trying to clarify Stedman Graham's comment about Oprah running for President, and throwing in her own 2 cents too.

We got Gayle leaving CBS Tuesday in NYC, after she went on the air and offered a tightrope answer as to whether Oprah was serious about a presidential bid in 2020.

The co-anchor said Oprah was intrigued, but probably not actively considering it at this point -- despite folks already hitting her up to run a campaign.

Gayle got direct with us, insisting while SHE personally thinks President Winfrey is easy on the ears ... Oprah is not convinced, and is not seriously considering a run.

7:15 PM PT -- Alabama RB Bo Scarbrough definitely wasn't in Trump's corner Monday night. He was heard yelling, "F*** Trump," before kickoff.

President Trump was met with a LOT of noise at the college football National Championship game on Monday ... and from what we heard on the broadcast, it sounded mostly positive. There were some boos, too.

Trump waved to the crowd and had a big smile on his face at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta -- flanked by military personnel. He stayed on the field through the National Anthem.

Remember, both Alabama and Georgia were Trump states in the 2016 election.

One other thing ... Kendrick Lamar is set to perform for the halftime show. It'll be interesting to see if the rapper -- who's a huge Trump critic -- says anything to ruffle feathers.

Senator Elizabeth Warren loves Oprah Winfrey for sure, but it's apparent she's not ready to throw her support behind O for a 2020 Presidential run.

We got the Massachusetts Senator Monday at Reagan National Airport in D.C. and gave her several openings to echo the sentiment held by a number of people after Oprah's historic Golden Globes speech, but she wouldn't go there.

Michael Rapaport says Donald Trump ripped off his idea for "Sloppy Steve Bannon," claiming he came up with the nickname a year ago ... and he's got the proof.

Mike posted a video Sunday in which he slams Trump for allegedly stealing his OG adjective for the former White House Chief Strategist, saying he coined the name "Sloppy Steve" a good 300-something days before 45 started throwing it around this week.

He tells Trump, whom he calls "d*** stain Donald," that he's already talking to his real "Jew lawyers" -- unlike Roy Moore's wife's own attorney -- to see if he's got a copyright infringement case against the Prez.

Chuck Zito's letting his shirt do the talking when it comes to pledging allegiance to President Trump ... but he's also got a mouth on him and probably a fist, too.

The former "Oz" star, and real life badass, was in Bev Hills Thursday when we asked about Trump's sexual misconduct accusers -- his shirt led us down the path -- and Chuck went off.

First, he called the wave of allegations in Hollywood a "witch hunt" that was hurting his close friends. When he addressed Trump's accusers, his response was pretty much ... see my shirt.

But a bit more menacing. Basically, Chuck's begging haters to make a move.

Henry Winkler's no fan of President Trump, but he's not celebrating Trump's new war with adviser-turned-enemy, Steve Bannon ... instead, he's gravely concerned about it.

We got the Fonz at LAX Wednesday, and asked what he thought of the legal jockeying and mudslinging over Bannon's remarks in Michael Wolff's book, 'Fire and Fury.' He thinks the former allies are playing games, but the only people they're actually hurting are American citizens.

Of course, Trump failed to block the book, and its explosive allegations, from hitting bookshelves Friday.

LeAnn Rimes took the fifth when our photog asked about Ivanka Trump's alleged aspirations to become the first female president ... while her stepsons unleashed their own brand of fire and fury.

We got LeAnn, hubby Eddie Cibrian and his 2 kids leaving Staples Center Wednesday night when our guy asked her about a passage in Michael Wolff's new book, 'Fire and Fury,' in which he claims Ivanka flirted with the idea of running for the office currently held by her dad.

LeAnn is mum but her stepsons make their disdain crystal clear.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren has no problem with President Trump gloating about the safest year in commercial aviation happening on his watch, but there's a BIG but attached.

The Senator had just flown into D.C.'s Reagan National Airport Wednesday when we got her take on Trump bragging there were zero aviation deaths last year on commercial flights. Trump's nemesis has never been shy about firing back at him, but this time she played it cool.

But like ... the kinda cool that feels like a setup. What she eventually said plays more like a warning to Trump than praise for him.

2:47 PM PT -- A Secret Service rep tells us the fire started in the ceiling of the second floor. Agents were able to use fire extinguishers to put the blaze out ... the fire department came to inspect and ensure everything was safe.

2:12 PM PT -- A rep for Hillary says the fire started in the Secret Service facility on the property, which is not connected to the main home. The Clintons were not home when the fire started.

12:22 PM PT -- The fire appears to have been on the second floor of the structure ... according to the local department, it's been mostly extinguished but crews are checking for anything additional.

The New York home of Bill and Hillary Clinton is on fire.

The Chappaqua Fire Dept. tells TMZ a structure on the property is ablaze and they are on the scene trying to control it.

We don't know whether the main structure was involved or if an ancillary structure such as a garage or guest house was on fire.

The Clinton's bought the home next door to their Chappaqua mansion in 2016 and turned the properties into a single compound.

We will update when we know the extent of the damage.