White House

Jim Brown has ZERO regrets about the Oval Office meeting today with Donald Trump and Kanye West ... saying it was an incredible opportunity and he's thankful to 45.

West has made headlines today about his behavior during the sit-down ... which included a couple classic Kanye rants, a heap of Trump praising and even a hug between the two men.

Brown was there too -- mostly silent -- making some wonder if he regretted making the trip. But, when the NFL great left the White House he told throngs of media that couldn't be further from the truth.

"We had the opportunity to meet with the President of the United States which everybody doesn't have that privilege. With me, at 82 years old, the only thing I could talk about was how to help other people. So, it was very positive."

Brown went on behalf of his Amer-I-Can foundation which helps inner-city youth develop life skills -- and he told everyone Trump was very good to the whole delegation.

"This is the President of the United States. He allowed me to be invited to his territory, he treated us beautifully, and he shared some thoughts, and he will be open to talking when I get back to him. That's the best he could do for me."

10:00 AM PT -- Kanye told Trump why he wants the 13th Amendment abolished. He says, among other things, 13 is an unlucky number. Trump seems amused at the end of the video.

9:55 AM PT -- Kanye told Trump this in the Oval ... "My dad and mom separated so there was not a lot of male energy in my home and also I'm married to a family where, you know, there's not a lot of male energy. It's beautiful, though."

Kanye told Trump he feels like Superman when he puts on his MAGA hat.

Check out Kanye's full rant.

Kanye West is in the house ... he just arrived at the White House for his meet and eat with President Trump.

Ye rolled up for the lunch meeting in a black SUV and, although we couldn't see him through the tinted windows, some of his team members got out at the security gate bearing gifts -- a few boxes of Yeezy swag.

Kanye and 45 are talking shop on a list of pressing issues. Officially, their agenda will include prison reform, American manufacturing, creating jobs and preventing gang violence in Ye's hometown of Chicago. Sources close to Kanye tell us he'll also discuss having people formerly incarcerated work in his factories and urge other big companies to follow suit.

However, based on President Trump's own words Thursday morning, we know what he's really interested in is his garnering support from African-American voters ahead of the midterm elections.

Adding to the spectacle ... Trump will reportedly invite reporters in for at least a portion of the lunch. Can you say PHOTO OP?

It's likely Kanye and Trump will also bring up Colin Kaepernick. When Ye was here at TMZ last week, he said he'd reached out to Kaep to try and get him to D.C. for a peace summit with POTUS.

Trump's having a bunch of his celeb pals over today -- Kid Rock and John Rich of Big & Rich were also there to witness him signing the Music Modernization Act into law.

However, the luncheon will only be attended by Kanye, NFL legend Jim Brown, Ivanka and Jared Kushner. On the menu -- Caprese salad and roasted chicken with potatoes and asparagus.

Delish ... what could go wrong?

President Trump was surrounded by a ton of music greats at the White House Thursday morning, as he signed a new law that will benefit many of them ... but Kanye West was not in on the fun.

POTUS signed the Music Modernization Act with John Rich, Kid Rock and several other artists standing by to make speeches about the new law, and also to witness the actual signing.

It all went down moments before Kanye's luncheon with 45 was scheduled to begin, so everyone expected Ye to join the other artists ... but he got to the White House juuuust a bit late.

As we told you ... Kanye is there now -- he didn't come empty-handed -- and the lunch meeting with the Prez, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and Jim Brown is set to begin.

Donald Trump says Jim Brown was such a stud back in the day, he would UNDOUBTEDLY be the highest paid player in the NFL if he was active right now.

The problem is ... he's wrong.

"I've known him. I've respected him truly," Trump said about Brown ... "Can you imagine him playing in the NFL today what he'd be making? Double what everyone else is getting! He was the greatest."

Trump's right -- Brown was insanely good and arguably the best NFL player of all time. But, NFL contracts today ... it's a QB's world!

The highest paid NFL players in 2018 (salary and bonuses, according to Forbes) are as follows ...

1) Aaron Rodgers (QB) -- $75.9 million.

2) Matt Ryan (QB) -- $57.5 million

3) Jimmy Garoppolo (QB) -- $43.1 million

Then Khalil Mack and Aaron Donald. In fact, there's not a running back in the Top 10!

And, get this ... the highest paid NFL running back right now is Le'Veon Bell ... who's so upset with his contract situation, he's sitting out!

Donald Trump says he values Kanye West's passion for prison reform, but he sure sounded like the real reason for his lunch with Ye is because the rapper is a magnet for male African-American voters.

Trump was on "Fox & Friends" Thursday AM and gushed about his African-American poll numbers, especially with guys, after Kanye doubled down on his support for the Prez. He repeated his claim that his poll numbers with African-American men soared when Kanye told the world -- MAGA.

The President marveled at the power of Kanye West. It's pretty ironic ... the 2 celebs who have really stood out in terms of trying to influence voters in various ways are Kanye and Taylor Swift. They're on opposite sides of the spectrum, but they both appear impactful.

Kanye West and President Trump's agenda for their Thursday sitdown will include signing new legislation that could potentially put more money in Kanye's pocket.

POTUS is scheduled to sign the Music Modernization Act while Ye is at the White House. The bill -- which the House and Senate have already passed -- updates licensing and royalties to artists, songwriters and producers for music played on streaming services.

Kanye and Recording Academy Prez Neil Portnow will be present for the ceremonial signing of the bill.

As we told you, Ye was already scheduled to be at the White House for a separate lunch meeting with Trump ... where they'll reportedly talk gang violence in Chicago, prison reform and manufacturing jobs.

Now that we know, he'll be front and center to see Trump sign the bill -- we're hoping Kanye's got a remix up his sleeve. Just sayin' ...

Teresa Giudice turned to Donald Trump right before Joe got locked up in 2016, hoping he would write a letter vouching for her husband ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to the Giudices tell TMZ ... Teresa reached out to Trump several months before Joe started serving his 41-month sentence, and asked Donald to write a character letter. This was before he was elected President, but she hoped the letter would help Joe get a lighter sentence.

Our sources say she and Trump got along while she was on the fifth season of the 'Celebrity Apprentice' in 2012, so we're told she thought she'd give it a shot. Nothing ventured, nothing gained ... but it didn't work.

We're told Trump's office -- and not Trump himself -- wrote a letter back saying he would NOT be able to do anything for her with regards to Joe. His staff wished her and her family well, FWIW.

As you know, Trump went on to become Prez ... and Joe went on to enter a federal prison. Joe was just ordered to be deported back to Italy once he's out of prison.

Joe's crime was a federal offense, so it's at least possible Trump could pardon him. Take 2, Teresa?

Monica says Kanye West is misguided if he thinks teaming up with Donald Trump is helping the world ... and it's time for Ye to put the kibosh on their relationship.

We got the R&B singer at LAX Tuesday and asked about Kanye and Trump's Thursday lunch date to discuss prison reform, jobs and reducing Chicago gang violence. Sounds great, but Monica still thinks Kanye should pull out because he's doing more harm than good for the black community.

She acknowledges Kanye has noble intentions, but says he's become too divisive for anyone to take him seriously.

Watch the clip ... Monica strongly insinuates Kanye needs to get on the same page with other black leaders before sitting down with Trump.

From what we've seen Kanye say about "free thought" ... that's highly unlikely.

One more thing ... she says Kim Kardashian's track record with the Prez doesn't automatically mean Kanye will have the same success.

Monica's disapproval aside ... POTUS is clearly gung-ho about the Kanye meeting.

Nikki Haley's all smiles after announcing she's resigning as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and it's a sign of things to come ... so she says.

We got Nikki Tuesday at Reagan National Airport in D.C. after she and President Trump announced she's leaving her gig at the end of the year ... a move she tells us is "all positive."

Haley's claimed her exit is simply about needing a break after serving nearly 2 years in the role and 6 years as South Carolina's governor before that. Obviously, a lot of people aren't buying it ... but that's Nikki's story and she's sticking to it here.

Caitlyn Jenner is being treated more harshly by her own, transgender community than the general public because they think she voted for Donald Trump ... but she didn't, according to her partner.

Sophia Hutchins says a few leaders in the trans community have poisoned them against Caitlyn, and the media just stoked the coals.

Sophia, who sat for an interview with Jim Breslo on his podcast, "Hidden Truth," didn't reconcile something her partner told Diane Sawyer ... that she voted for Trump.

Sophia says Caitlyn has had a hard time winning over the trans community, in part because they unfairly view her as unrelatable because she lives a privileged life. She blasts the media for telling untruths about her partner ... blasts them hard.

Sophia has long been an LGBTQ activist ... noting, when she was at college at the Christian school Pepperdine University, she fought the administration to get an LGBTQ club on campus. It rankles her that the media reduces her to being "a model."

Check out the full episode here.

Robert De Niro got back into his political comedy shtick again this weekend, making a sorry joke about Brett Kavanaugh hours after he was confirmed to the Supreme Court.

De Niro was receiving the Brass Ring Award Saturday evening at the Children's Diabetes Foundation's Carousel of Hope event in L.A., when, for whatever reason, he decided to wade into politics with a quip about the newly appointed Justice Kavanaugh. It mostly landed flat.

Seemingly out of nowhere, he goes ... "Now, one reminder. The drinks, wine and beer are flowing. But, be careful -- if you have too much, you may end up on the Supreme Court."

Besides the fact that he butchered the delivery of the line -- stumbling over his words -- it's clear he chose the wrong topic to bring up at a ceremony for the Children's Diabetes Foundation. The reactions to his joke were mixed, some nervously laughing ... others booing.

It's definitely not the first time De Niro has used his platform in such a public setting to bash the Trump administration. He got bleeped saying "F*** Trump" at the Tony Awards earlier this year, and seems to take every opportunity he can to slam the President.

3:20 PM PT -- Kavanaugh has reportedly been sworn in as the 114th Supreme Court justice in a private ceremony at court.

1:45 PM PT -- Trump congratulated the Senate on "confirming our GREAT NOMINEE" ... and says he will sign Kavanaugh's Commission of Appointment and swear him in later today.

There were no last minute surprises or curveballs -- Brett Kavanaugh got the votes he needed to be confirmed to the Supreme Court of the United States ... but just barely.

President Trump's pick to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy was confirmed by the Senate Saturday with a tally of 50 to 48 ... including crucial "aye" votes from Senators Jeff Flake, Susan Collins and Joe Manchin.

Republican Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski was set to vote 'no' on Kavanaugh, but as a favor to Montana Senator Steve Daines ... she voted 'present' to offset his 'yes' vote so he could attend his daughter's wedding. It really didn't matter anyway.

The confirmation comes after weeks of drama and controversy stemming from allegations made by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a party in the early '80s when they were both in high school.

Ford's claims led to a Senate hearing where both she and the judge testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee ... and a brief follow-up FBI investigation authorized by the Prez.

But, when it was all said and done, a majority of the Senate -- all but one Republican plus Manchin -- determined Ford's allegations were not corroborated and Kavanaugh was deserving of a spot on the highest court in the land.

If recent history with Neil Gorsuch is any indication, now that Kavanaugh's been confirmed ... he could be sworn in as early as Monday.

Before the Senate vote, Kavanaugh wrote a letter admitting he was overly emotional and said some things he shouldn't have during his testimony. However, he insists he'll be a "pro-law judge" who won't let partisan politics or public pressure influence his decisions.

Many people -- including Amy Schumer -- aren't buying it ... and have been consistently protesting Kavanaugh's appointment to the Supreme Court in D.C. this week.

Remember in January, when Hawaii residents received a terrifying text about an inbound ballistic missile with instructions to seek shelter immediately, but it turned out to be a false alarm?

Well, don't worry -- that's not going to happen with President Trump's new nationwide presidential alert texts ... it's a FEMA guarantee.

A spokesperson for the Homeland Security agency tells TMZ ... it has an infallible multi-step process in place to ensure the text system does not result in a major warning fail like what happened in Hawaii.

We're told for sending national alerts, the process begins with a special authentication procedure to make sure the person requesting to send it has the proper authority.

After verified approval, a 2-person "integrity check" procedure kicks in to ensure the alert contains the appropriate message and the info is properly formatted.

Finally, we're told the alert is only sent when BOTH of these alert operators have validated the content and format and hit the send button.

Dean Cain says his mom and sister were once victims of sexual assault but he's adamant those cases vastly differ from the accusations Brett Kavanaugh's facing ... and that's why he still supports Kavanaugh's SCOTUS nom.

We got Dean Thursday at the Javits Center for NY Comic Con and he thinks Kavanaugh will end up getting confirmed to the Supreme Court. Why? The TV Superman thinks Dr. Christine Blasey Ford was was silent for way too long.

Lindsey Graham says President Trump might not be deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize just yet, but if he wins it anyway ... liberals are going to lose it.

We got the South Carolina Senator on Capitol Hill Thursday evening and asked about the Prez being a favorite for the honor ... Graham says he's done a lot to deserve it by fighting ISIS and taking on Iran, but needs a little more help from North Korea.

As for the libs, Sen. Graham thinks if 45 manages to nab the Nobel, they'll be so distraught they'll head for the nearest window ... and take the leap.

Lindsey also throws some shade at past Peace Prize winner Barack Obama ... and a little at George W. too.

Brett Kavanaugh seems to be walking back his emotional outbursts at last week's Senate hearing over the allegations made against him by Dr. Christine Ford ... and he really wants you to believe he'll be a fair Supreme Court Justice.

President Trump's SCOTUS nominee penned a letter for The Wall Street Journal Thursday, in which he insists he's a "pro-law judge" who will not be influenced by partisan politics or public pressure ... and will "always strive to be a team player" with the other Justices.

He also admits he got "very emotional" during his testimony -- more than he's ever been -- but insists it's not who he is. He explains his behavior by saying it was the result of "my overwhelming frustration at being wrongly accused" and "my deep distress at the unfairness of how this allegation has been handled."

Kavanaugh adds ... "I might have been too emotional at times. I know that my tone was sharp, and I said a few things I should not have said. I hope everyone can understand that I was there as a son, husband and dad."

It seems like Trump's pick is trying to soften the blow with people who strongly oppose him being confirmed to the highest court in the U.S., which could happen this weekend.