White House

Stop riding Kanye West for supporting Donald Trump ... that's the message NBA star Iman Shumpert has for all the haters coming after the rapper this week.

FYI, Shumpert has a Kanye connection -- his wife, Teyana Taylor, is signed to West's G.O.O.D. Music record label and has an album coming out this summer.

So, with the backlash against West in full swing ... we wanted to know where Shumpert stood.

"I'm a Kanye fan," Shumpert said.

"Long before meeting my wife and knowing the relationship to Ye that she has as far as being signed, I have always walked with him throughout the commotion that he makes."

Shumpert says he's cool with Kanye wearing the MAGA hat -- and says it doesn't mean Kanye agrees with EVERYTHING Trump has to say.

He also really liked Kanye's freestyle with Harvey Levin.

There's more ... Shumpert also talked to us about his reality show "Teyana and Iman" (airs Monday night on VH1) and told us why his family has an edge on the Kardashians!

Billy Bush says George H.W. Bush probably isn't going anywhere anytime soon -- 'cause he's been to the hospital bed and back before ... plus, he's got jelly jars to mug for.

We got Billy hanging with his kids Sunday at Pacific Park in Santa Monica, where we asked how his uncle was doing after being hospitalized just a day after Barbara Bush's funeral.

He says the POTUS 41 is "solid" -- noting he was hospitalized 5 years ago, and came back from that just fine. Billy also makes a prediction about H.W.'s short-term and long-term life goals -- namely, a potential plan to be the (literal) face of Smucker's. Give it 7 years.

Everyone who thinks Kanye West's red MAGA hat photo also features a man flashing an alt-right symbol needs to chill, because it's not true.

The man giving the OK sign -- which many believe is a gesture used by the alt-right or white supremacists -- is YouTube's Global Head of Music, Lyor Cohen ... but it's not even an OK sign to him.

A rep for YouTube tells us ... Cohen's gesture is meant to represent the company he founded -- 300 Entertainment -- and nothing more. He's also done it several times before.

As we reported ... Kanye's been on the Trump Train Wednesday, sending out several tweets about his love for the Prez, including the provocative selfie with Cohen and Lucian Grainge, CEO of Universal Music.

Charlamagne Tha God's officially NOT on board with Kanye West making a run for the White House, because he says the last thing America needs is another Celebrity-in-Chief.

We got "The Breakfast Club" co-host leaving Barnes & Noble in NYC Wednesday, and asked him about Kanye crowning Charlamagne "The New Oprah." The compliment comes on the heels of Charlamagne sitting down with Ye last week ... but CTG told us why he's rejecting that comparison.

He's also got a strong message for everyone calling him after Kanye said someone's offering $10 mil for his interview with Charlamagne.

As for Yeezy publicly embracing Trump and talking about his own run for Prez ... Charlamagne had a lot of praise for Kanye the rapper ... but definitely NOT for Kanye the politician.

By the way -- we got CTG on the way out of a book signing for his "Black Privilege" -- he might not want to be Oprah, but he's already a NYT Best Seller.

Steve Scalise wishes he could be out on the baseball field with his GOP pals almost a year after he was shot at the Congressional baseball team practice -- and he also has advice for Kanye West on his future run for Prez.

We got the Republican House Majority Whip Wednesday at Reagan National Airport, and asked what he thought of Sen. Jeff Flake and other members of the GOP holding their first practice since a gunman opened fire. Scalise suffered severe internal bleeding from a gunshot to his hip.

Steve, who was walking with minor support from crutches, said he's glad Congress is keeping up the tradition and hopes to get back out there himself soon.

In regards to Kanye -- who's publicly reaffirming his love for President Trump -- Scalise sounded excited to have West's backing.

He did have one request for Kanye though ... IF the rapper's serious about getting into politics, himself. It has do with his timing, and it seems like 'Ye is fully on board with Rep. Scalise's plan.

Another member of the Philadelphia Eagles' 2017 Super Bowl team says he's not planning on going to Trump's White House with the team ... this time it's linebacker Dannell Ellerbe.

"Me personally, I wouldn't go," Ellerbe says ... noting, "I've already been before."

Ellerbe -- who's now a free agent -- is referring to the Super Bowl ring he won as a member of the 2012 Baltimore Ravens team. That squad visited then-President Barack Obama.

But, several Eagles players have stated they're not feeling the current President and will not attend the ceremony at 1600 Penn ... including Torrey Smith, Chris Long and Malcolm Jenkins.

Plus, it recently came out that Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie had made some anti-Trump comments -- calling his presidency, "disastrous."

Sean Spicer is back to repping a Trump, but this time it's the First Lady, Melania, as a wax figure at Madame Tussauds in New York City.

Spicer is launching the "Give Melania a Voice" experience at the wax museum this Wednesday. It's Madame Tussauds' first wax figure of the First Lady and it'll be interactive, which might explain why Spicer is doing the honor.

Visitors will be able to tweet on Melania's behalf from a tweeting station nearby, which will then go live to a FLOMT (First Lady of Madame Tussauds) account.

Spicer will also participate in a Q&A at the unveiling about his time in the White House, but is keeping it short, just like an ol' White House press conference. The whole event is expected to last 15 minutes.

Former president George H.W. Bush has been hospitalized in Houston, just one day after his wife of 73 years was laid to rest.

A Bush rep says he contracted an infection that spread to his blood. The 93-year-old former President has suffered a variety of health problems, including pneumonia back in January 2017. He also suffers from vascular parkinsonism ... a rare syndrome that mimics Parkinson's disease.

Cardi B standing shoulder to shoulder with Sen. Bernie Sanders -- something he'd love to see if she's serious about her love of the Social Security Administration.

We got the Vermont senator Thursday at Reagan National Airport in D.C., and asked him about Cardi dropping some knowledge. She shouted out President FDR in a GQ interview, and called him the real 'Make America Great Again' prez for starting Social Security.

Bernie seemed impressed Ms. Bodak Yellow was down for the cause. He told us he'd love to see her get more involved.

Donald Trump said Vladimir Putin boasted to him about the quality of hookers in his country ... this according to one of James Comey's memos.

Several media outlets have obtained the memos by the ex-FBI Director, and one of them is already adding spice to the Mueller investigation into Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 election ... or at least rumors involving Trump and hookers.

In the memo, Comey claims POTUS said Russia's Prez told him ... "We have some of the most beautiful hookers in the world."

Barack and Michelle Obama have decided 2 summers without a swimming pool were enough ... so with another summer around the corner, they are finally gonna build one.

Obama's post-presidential pad in Washington, D.C. -- the one they first rented back in 2016 and then plunked down $8.1 million to buy last year -- is undergoing construction for a new swimming pool.

According to building permits, obtained by TMZ, work includes construction for a brand spankin' new residential swimming pool ... an in-ground pool, of course. Barack was the 44th prez, after all. The pool will also feature a terrace of sorts.

Barack and Michelle got the permit application process going in January ... and there has been a series of reviews in the months that followed -- from plumbing and electrical to several mechanical corrections.

Nothing like a staycation after a SICK 2017 vacation.

Stormy Daniels' team has been flooded with tips on who her threatening mystery man might be less than 24 hours after she revealed the sketch, but she can't say she's that much closer to finding him.

Stormy's lawyer, Michael Avenatti, tells TMZ her legal team has received well over 1,500 tips on potential leads for ID'ing Stormy's alleged perpetrator. However, he says they've only deemed a couple hundred or so credible enough to pursue.

Avenatti wouldn't elaborate on what differentiated credible versus non-credible tips -- but we can take a guess. TONS of people took to Twitter Tuesday after Stormy revealed the sketch on "The View" to compare it to a bunch of celebs ... most notably, Tom Brady. Some even think it looks like Stormy's husband.

As for the legit leads ... Avenatti says Stormy's team has dedicated 40-60 man hours so far running them down. He says they have people on the ground in Vegas, CA and NY.

Stormy Daniels is now revealing a sketch artist's rendering of the mystery man who allegedly threatened her to back off Donald Trump.

The ex-porn star was on "The View" when she revealed the composite she and her attorney, Michael Avenatti, recently had done based on her memory of the 2011 incident. You'll recall she says the man approached her in 2011 and told her to "Leave Trump alone" and to "forget the story" ... or else.

Stormy told Anderson Cooper on "60 Minutes" that the threat came immediately after she'd spoken to In Touch magazine about her sex romp with Trump. She claims the man also threatened her then-infant daughter, saying ... "It'd be a shame if something happened to her mom."

As for the sketch itself, Stormy's memory is he was between 5'9" and 6' ... and "lean but 'fit.'" He also bares a striking resemblance to Tom Brady ... at least the sketch does.

Comedian Corey Holcomb says Maria Bamford's restraining order request against President Trump is just a publicity stunt that she can get away with because she's a white lady.

We got the "Last Comic Standing" and "Wild 'N Out" star Monday at LAX, and asked what he thought of Maria filing legal docs against the Prez for triggering anxiety and depression over his escalating feuds with countries like North Korea and Russia ... feuds that raise the specter of nuclear war.

He doesn't mince words here -- Corey says Maria's full of s*** for filing a frivolous legal claim, which he chops up to a good PR move and getting in on the Trump train. For the record ... she's got a comedy tour that's about to launch Tuesday, so he might have a point.

1:00 PM PT -- Sean Hannity just responded on his radio show, "The Sean Hannity Show," denying that Michael Cohen ever represented him. He also tweeted that he "assumed those conversations were confidential."

11:52 AM PT -- Cohen's lawyer just revealed in court FOX News host Sean Hannity is Cohen's previously unnamed client.

Stormy Daniels ripped a page right out of "The Godfather: Part II" as she showed up in court to stare down President Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen.

Cohen has a hearing Monday in New York to discuss how he feels federal prosecutors should handle documents seized by the FBI after a raid on his office and residence -- especially docs he claims would violate attorney-client privilege if improperly reviewed.

Trump's guy wants a judge to allow him and his team to review the seized docs first so they can single out paperwork they want protected from scrutiny. Trump's own team also reportedly filed docs asking to be allowed to review any seized evidence relating to the Prez.

Oh, and Cohen's asking to keep a third client of his anonymous -- his other 2, which he says received serious legal services, are Trump and GOP fundraiser Elliott Broidy ... the latter of whom had Cohen pay a Playboy model $1.6 million after she claimed Broidy knocked her up.

As you might recall ... Cohen admitted to paying Stormy $130k ... which she says was intended to keep her quiet about an alleged affair she claims she had with Trump.

Stormy Daniels has just filed legal docs responding to Donald Trump's request to put her lawsuit on ice.

Daniels' lawyer, Michael Avenatti, says the case should go full steam ahead for 3 reasons.

-- He says neither Trump nor Michael Cohen have submitted declarations explaining why going to trial would be unfair to them.

-- Avenatti says Cohen, who has suggested his 5th Amendment rights might be compromised, has made a number of statements since the FBI raid, so he can't be afraid of speaking out.