White House

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris' inauguration playlist is taking Brooklyn rapper Kota the Friend's career to new heights ... and he's also giving thanks to Lupita Nyong'o.

Kota the Friend's camp tells TMZ ... the independent rapper was blindsided when his track, "Lupita's Interlude," was the first song in the official inauguration playlist, and now he's reaping the benefits of a presidential shoutout.

Ever since Kota was included on the 46-song playlist alongside the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Led Zeppelin and Stevie Wonder, his collab with Lupita has enjoyed a huge spike in listeners on Spotify and Apple Music, with streams increasing over 90% to 2.5 million total.

Not bad for a Kota song that doesn't even feature his vocals ... it's just 1 minute of Lupita reciting a spoken word poem about things that mean everything to her. The track's the interlude to Kota's 2020 album, "Everything."

Kota's reps say he's also getting lots of eyeballs on social media ... over 10,000 new Instagram followers, over 11,000 new likes on his Facebook page and over 13,500 new followers on Spotify.

Hey, it helps to have a ticket with 81 million votes on your side.

Like many of her colleagues, AOC condemned the decision to force hundreds of National Guard soldiers to take their breaks in a frigid parking garage instead of the warm Capitol building, but she went a step further by offering them her office couch for a nap ... and snacks.

The National Guard members were ordered out of the Capitol Building Thursday by Capitol Police, and told to either take their rest breaks outside or in a nearby parking garage ... which resulted in some truly bad optics and, frankly, shockingly inhumane treatment.

The Guardsmen and women were packed like sardines in the parking garage -- "breathing in exhaust fumes and covid" as one reporter put it -- after spending the past several days in D.C. to protect the Capitol and provide increased security for Joe Biden's inauguration.

Though the reason behind the Capitol Police ordering the Guard to move out Thursday is unclear, it sure seems the reasoning is that they didn't want the building to look like an armed camp.  The move drew condemnation by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, and some of the guard members said they felt betrayed.

The good news -- AOC's tweet and the outrage of other members apparently forced an about face ... all of the service members were allowed back inside the building for the night.

A National Guard spokesperson shed some light on what went down Thursday, saying ... "As Congress is in session and increased foot traffic and business is being conducted, Capitol Police asked the troops to move their rest area. They were temporarily relocated to the Thurgood Marshall Judicial Center garage with heat and restroom facilities."

Well, there was just one restroom with 2 stalls available to the 5,000 troops who were told to leave the Capitol ... and temperatures dipped into the low 40s by nightfall.

And, if you want to know what it might be like to be exposed to the elements in D.C. ... well, just look at frigid Tom Hanks during the Inauguration show.

While President Biden's already getting comfy in the White House, Vice President Harris can't unpack just yet ... but her temporary home is pretty rich in history.

The Veep and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff will be living at Blair House ... a 19th-century row house situated across Pennsylvania Avenue from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. It's also steps away from the White House.

The house -- dubbed The President's Guest House -- is usually reserved for former presidents and other dignitaries when they're in town. It consists of 4 distinct buildings merged into one ... featuring 14 guest bedrooms, 35 bathrooms and a total of 119 rooms.

It's unclear how long VP Harris will be at Blair -- the traditional Vice President's mansion at the Naval Observatory is getting a bunch of repairs -- such as new chimney liners -- at the Navy's request. Once Harris does move in, she'll be the 8th VP to live there since it was built in 1893.

Blair House is also where incoming Presidents typically stay the night before Inauguration Day, just as the Bidens did this week. Another fun fact: President Truman lived there too while the White House underwent renovations after World War II.

Joe Biden's driving a wedge between some of Andrew Jackson's descendants ... there's a split in the family over the new look in the Oval Office.

The rift stems from Biden's decision to remove a portrait of our 7th president from the Oval, replacing Jackson with a painting of Benjamin Franklin. It's a change from the layout during Donald Trump's time in the Oval.

Jackson's great, great, great-granddaughter, Barbara Jackson, tells TMZ ... she approves of Biden's big change, because her relative did some really bad things.

She says Jackson did some good, but she can't get over the fact he was a slave owner and was a fierce opponent of ending slavery.

Jackson's great, great, great-grandson, Andy Jackson, tells TMZ ... he's unhappy and thinks his great-great-grandpa has a rightful place near the resolute desk.

Andy, Barbara's cousin, says President Jackson should be remembered for his accomplishments -- defeating the British in the War of 1812 and increasing suffrage -- even if history doesn't look kindly on his cruel policies on Native Americans.

There's some common ground among Jackson's relatives, who descend from his adopted son Andrew Jackson II ... they both feel the decision was ultimately Biden's to make, and they respect it.

Here's a potential tiebreaker -- Andrew Jackson's Hermitage.

Howard Kittel, the President and CEO of Jackson's former plantation turned museum, tells TMZ ... he was disappointed to see the portrait taken down, but not surprised, given Jackson's ties to slavery.

Dr. Anthony Fauci held his breath for months with Donald Trump, but he's now fully exhaled and is having a hard time hiding his glee over the change in administrations.

The infectious disease guru made it clear at the White House coronavirus briefing Thursday ... SCIENCE RULES!!

The good doc made it clear ... there were times working with Trump when he felt uncomfortable -- fact is, you could see it all over his face. He was walking a tightrope because if he disagreed with 45 he could end up getting pink-slipped, which would have been bad for the country.

The best evidence of this, he said, is Trump touting hydroxychloroquine. He didn't want to squarely contradict Trump, because of Trump's temper ... he clearly feels comfortable giving Biden the straight take.

Fauci shaded Trump, by saying the mantra of the Biden Administration when it comes to coronavirus is simple ... "If you don't know the answer, don't guess. Just say you don't know the answer."

Dr. Fauci says getting back to facts and letting the science speak for itself in approaching the pandemic is a "liberating feeling."

Time to make some room in the binders, collectors ... Bernie Sanders is now getting a baseball card based on his 'fit at Wednesday's inauguration -- and it's pretty amazing!!

The guys at Topps just designed a piece based on the incredibly meme-able shot of Sanders at Joe Biden's historic event ... offering up the one-of-a-kind card for $9.99.

As part of the Topps Now program, collectors have until Jan. 28 to purchase the card ... and Topps will then print off however many were sold and send them out.

The beauty of it all for collectors? Topps says the Jan. 21 to Jan. 28 timeframe is the ONLY times in history they'll produce this card -- so it could make the thing super valuable down the road.

Unique spin on the hobby, right??

Sanders' iconic shot at POTUS' festivities won't just be memorialized in a card form, though ... he's also getting a bobblehead treatment!

The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame unveiled Thursday they've created a piece based on Sanders' mask, jacket and gloves for $25 a pop!

Those bombs bursting in air for President Biden's Inauguration celebration required tens of thousands of fireworks to ensure his big day ended with a bang.

The company behind Wednesday night's fireworks show that lit up the sky while Katy Perry sang her hit, "Firework," tells TMZ ... a total of 35,000 shells exploded around the Washington Monument.

Garden State Fireworks owner August Santore tell us work began in earnest last Thursday, with a 25-man crew gearing up for the grand finale of the "Celebrating America" primetime special by setting up launching pads at 14 different locations.

With 35,000 fireworks going off, that's a lot of shells and debris to pick up ... and we're told the cleanup crew is aiming to be done by Saturday if all goes well.

The show went off without a hitch as the new Prez and First Lady soaked it all in from a White House balcony. Uncle Sam's relied on Garden State Fireworks for years, they've scored 8 straight contracts for the annual 4th of July Celebration at the National Mall.

BTW ... those 4th of July firework shows are much bigger than what we saw Inauguration Day, as this show was only 5 minutes compared to the 20-minute variety for Independence Day.

While GSF did most of the heavy lifting, we're told they also worked with a live special events company, Strictly FX, that was hired by the Inauguration Committee.

Amanda Gorman's poem at President Biden's Inauguration didn't just make her a household name, it put her at the top of Amazon's Best-Sellers list.

Hours after reading her poem, "The Hill We Climb" and becoming the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history, Gorman couldn't contain her joy as she learned her books -- "The Hill We Climb" and "Change Sings" -- clocked in at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, on Amazon sales.

What's really impressive about that is the books won't even be out until September 21 ... everyone's just pre-ordering now.

That's a massive accomplishment in such a short time especially when you consider this -- Barack Obama's "A Promised Land" is at No. 4, Kamala Harris' "Superheroes Are Everywhere" is at No. 8 and Michelle Obama's "Becoming" is at No. 12.

The 22-year-old West L.A. native and Harvard grad got a HUGE plug from 44 ... who tweeted, "On a day for the history books, @TheAmandaGorman delivered a poem that more than met the moment. Young people like her are proof that 'there is always light, if only we're brave enough to see it; if only we're brave enough to be it.'"

It should be noted ... Hillary Clinton, Oprah Winfrey and Lin-Manuel Miranda also shared her poem, which scored rave reviews and was trending just seconds after delivering it.

How'd Steph Curry show love to Joe Biden on inauguration day??

ULTRA-RARE KICKS, BABY!!!

The Golden State Warriors superstar busted out his 2-of-a-kind, famous Under Armour Curry 3 shoes for warmups before the Dubs took on the Spurs on Wednesday ... and the sneaks are clearly still as dope as ever.

FYI -- Curry teamed up with UA back in 2017 to make the special shoes -- creating them as a way to honor the end of Barack Obama's 2-term presidency.

Reportedly, only 2 pairs were ever made -- one for Steph and one for Obama -- and they were awesome ... featuring the presidential seal on the tongue as well as other nods to the former president all over them.

Curry hadn't been seen in the shoes since '17 ... but he apparently kept good care of them -- 'cause after Biden had been sworn in Wednesday morning, Steph took the court in the feet heat!

Curry -- who's big-time pals with Obama and a huge supporter of Biden -- laced them up pregame ... before transitioning into another pair of his signature shoes for game time.

Seems the POTUS kicks were good luck ... Curry balled out against San Antonio, scoring 26 points and adding 7 assists in the win.

Donald Trump's final piece of Presidential biz has Detroit's imprisoned ex-Mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, enjoying his first taste of freedom in 7 years.

Kilpatrick got sprung from federal prison Wednesday and reunited with family members at Detroit's airport after Trump commuted his sentence. He had been serving a 28-year sentence for corruption crimes while he was Mayor.

Though he's a free man now, his 24 felony convictions still stand ... and he's still on the hook for $195,000 owed to the IRS and $1.5 million to Detroit.

If ya don't know ... Kilpatrick was dubbed the city's "Hip-Hop Mayor," but from his first term, he was dogged with scandals -- both accusations of misusing funds and a text-messaging sex scandal with his chief of staff.

Then, in 2013, he was convicted of racketeering conspiracy, fraud, extortion and tax crimes in a scheme the government called the "Kilpatrick enterprise."

Despite all of that, Kwame still had a slew of supporters in the D who felt his sentence was too harsh and pushed for a commutation. Trump came through for him, and in shortening his sentence noted ... "During his incarceration, Mr. Kilpatrick has taught public speaking classes and has led Bible Study groups with his fellow inmates."

President Trump came through for Lil Wayne with a full pardon that gets him off the hook for a gun charge that could've meant serious prison time, and rapper Kodak Black also got clemency with a commutation of his sentence.

Wayne's pardon announcement included a statement of support by Brett Berish of Sovereign Brands, who described him as "trustworthy, kind-hearted and generous." The pardon statement then reads, "Mr. Carter has exhibited this generosity through commitment to a variety of charities, including donations to research hospitals and a host of foodbanks."

Deion Sanders, also a supporter of the pardon, referred to Lil Wayne as "a provider for his family, a friend to many, a man of faith, a natural giver to the less fortunate, a waymaker [and] a game changer."

Weezy's pardon came just hours before the sun set on Trump's Presidency ... and it's just one of a stack of pardons, including Kodak Black. Black, who was sentenced to 46 months in prison for making a false statement on a Federal document, served nearly half his sentence.

The pardon statement notes he has been charitable in various ways, "such as providing educational resources to students and families of fallen law enforcement officers and the underprivileged." It goes on to note KB has provided funding to daycare centers, helped with food banks and worked with underprivileged children. And, the statement notes Kodak donated $50k to Dave Portnoy's Barstool Fund, which provides financial assistance to struggling businesses in the wake of COVID.

Wayne endorsed Trump in the final days of the 2020 election campaign -- posing for a photo, talking up Trump's criminal justice reform efforts and his proposed "platinum plan" to benefit the Black community.

With the pardon ... Weezy no longer has to worry about his federal gun case. As we reported ... he pled guilty in federal court last month to illegally possessing a loaded weapon while traveling to Miami on a private jet a year earlier.

He hadn't been sentenced, but faced the possibility of up to 10 years. That's all in Wayne's rearview mirror now.

It's been a looooong journey, but Joe Biden's big day is finally here -- he'll be sworn in as 46th President of the United States in an inauguration ceremony unlike any other in American history ... and you can watch it live right here.

The President-elect and Vice President-elect, Kamala Harris, are set to be sworn in Wednesday in D.C. shortly after noon, and then Biden will deliver his first presidential address to the nation.

Along the way during the "America United"-themed Inauguration Day, many of the normal ceremonial displays, tributes to the troops, A-list performances and former presidents will be featured, but otherwise ... it will be far from normal.

That's because COVID-19 continues to ravage the country, and because 2 weeks ago ... pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol and wreaked havoc in a coup attempt that resulted in multiple deaths.

For a combination of those reasons, Biden's inauguration will not draw a large crowd -- in fact, his team hopes it's the smallest ever, with folks opting to watch at home -- nor will it be followed up by a series of inauguration balls.

Instead, there will be a heavy police and security presence ... as the threat of more violence continues to loom large following the Capitol riots.

And, of course, Biden's inauguration will be different due to the fact for the first time since Andrew Johnson left office in 1869 ... the outgoing President, Donald Trump, is choosing to skip it. VP Mike Pence will attend, along with past presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton and their former first ladies Michelle Obama, Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton.

If all goes well though, the only other big news of the day will be the performances of Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Bruce Springsteen and Garth Brooks, a virtual parade ... and the inauguration television special called "Celebrating America" hosted by Tom Hanks.

Hopefully, America gets that lucky.

The Tiger King is not free to run wild again ... President Trump snubbed Joe Exotic's request to be pardoned, and he and his team aren't taking it well.

What seemingly started as a pipe dream way back in April 2020 -- when Trump said he'd "take a look" at pardoning Joe -- turned out to be exactly that. Joe's team tells TMZ ... "140 million Joe Exotic fans had a hard time getting out of bed this morning."

Yeah, that 'Tiger King' viewers stat might be inflated -- and assumes all of them were rooting for Joe's release -- but you get the point ... they're bummed.

His team added, "We are as disappointed that the President did not sign Joe’s pardon, as we were confident yesterday that he would." Joe's team adds ... it's only because of his fans that the pardon was even a possibility.

As we reported ... shortly after Trump's comment, Team Tiger -- led by P.I. Eric Love -- produced a video asking to free Joe and hopped in a customized tour bus to head to D.C. in hopes of pitching Trump for a pardon.

Those early efforts didn't yield success, but Love and the team were persistent ... and he returned to D.C. in September to hand-deliver Joe's pardon request. As we reported ... the 257-page case to Trump included Joe's claims that he'd been sexually assaulted in prison.

Again, there was silence from Trump about a possible pardon, but Joe continued to publicly plead for one as recently as 2 weeks ago ... when he asked to be pardoned in time to attend his father's funeral.

It didn't happen, and Joe's patience and persistence was all for naught ... because he didn't make the cut for Trump's list of 73 pardons and 70 commutations. In other news -- Steve Bannon, Lil Wayne, Kodak Black and the co-founder of Death Row Records all did.

As you know ... Exotic's been doing hard time for the murder-for-hire plot, and though he's maintained his innocence, he'll remain behind bars.

Team Tiger says they're not giving up though ... and spent 2 hours on the phone with Joe this morning listening to his Direct Appeal Oral Arguments. Love says they "will never leave Joe’s side and will continue to work until his freedom is gained."

Donald Trump's final use of "YMCA" during a public political event did NOT go unnoticed by the guys who originally sang it -- and while they're still pissed ... they're also thankful that, for now, this is the end of his tradition.

The Village People tell TMZ ... "We asked him to cease and desist long ago. However, since he's a bully, our request was ignored." It's true -- TVP have repeatedly made clear they're not down with DT constantly using their most famous tune ... but he's persisted.

The group adds, "Thankfully he's now out of office, so it would seem his abusive use of our music has finally ended. We hope to spearhead a change in copyright law that will give artists and publishers more control over who can and cannot use our music in the public space. Currently there is no limit to blanket licensing."

That's interesting ... because that's not something that many people know or something that artists vow to change. Basically, the reason Trump has been able to, for the most part, get away with playing music from so many artists who don't sign off is because ... it's legal.

The Village People's comments here touch on copyright law -- which we won't dig into too deeply -- but essentially ... it's usually fine to play copyrighted songs in places like stadiums that have public performance licenses -- which is where Trump often played these songs.

The Village People -- and probably several other musicians, like Aerosmith, the Rolling Stones, and countless others -- might be happy he won't have reason to do this anymore with their music, but in light of Trump promising to come back, they may have to revisit this issue again ... one day.

Donald Trump is departing the White House for the final time as President, en route to a send-off party he requested as he leaves behind a tumultuous legacy that will certainly be ... remembered.

DT is about to board the Marine One chopper early Wednesday morning on the South Lawn, where a few of White House staffers are standing by to say deuces to POTUS for good. He'll be on his way to Joint Base Andrews -- just outside of D.C., where he's putting on a farewell ceremony for himself.

Invites for the event were sent out to Trump's remaining allies, but details for what exactly is in store were hazy. The buzz has been 45's looking for a major military-style parade, before he boards Air Force One. We'll see if he gets it, and who shows up ... it's slated to begin at 8 AM ET.

One person who won't be attending for certain is his Vice President Mike Pence. He's said he will who be at Joe Biden's inauguration ... presumably representing the administration. This is the first time in over a century that an outgoing Prez has blown off the Inauguration Day transfer of power.

In any case, once his farewell gala is done, Trump's flying south for the winter -- and beyond -- to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

His decision to bolt outta D.C, at the crack of dawn isn't all that surprising considering the hot political (and possibly legal) water Trump's found himself in during these final weeks in office.

Of course, he's already been impeached for inciting the Jan. 6 riot and storming of the Capitol -- and could face a Senate trial.

The Senate could convict him, and also vote to bar him from holding any federal office again -- due to his historic double impeachment -- which would upend any potential Presidential run, which he's suggested he might do.

Needless to say, this is most likely not the last we'll see of Trump ... impeachment aside, there's wide speculation he could face criminal charges for the riot, business dealings in NY state and even Hollywood punishment from the SAG-AFTRA union.

Plus, he's talked about possibly starting his own news network. We guess the only place you won't see him, as of now, is Twitter.

We suppose there's nothing left to say except, goodbye 45. Yes, his own catchphrase comes to mind too, but we'll spare you. 👋🏽.

The Golden State Warriors are finally returning to the White House ... courtesy of a one-of-a-kind gift to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris from NBA superstar Stephen Curry!!!

The Oakland native and HUGE Warriors fan is set to become the 49th -- and first female -- VP in the history of the United States on Wednesday ... and Curry came through with an unforgettable present that'll look reaaaally good hanging up in Harris' White House office.

The 3-time NBA champ surprised Harris with a video prior to Wednesday's inauguration ... presenting her with her very own #49 Warriors jersey with a "Madame VP" nameplate and an autographed message from Curry.

Of course, the Warriors' recent championship teams famously boycotted visiting the 1600 Penn during Donald Trump's presidency ... so it'll most likely be the first time any sort of positivity about the Dubs has entered the White House in a LONG time.

"Madame Vice President, I'm not saying you've got to put this up in your office at the White House, but it probably would be a good idea," Curry said in the video.

"Congratulations! Blazing your own path, we are all rooting and supporting you the whole way."

Worth noting -- the Dubs have recently moved to San Francisco, but are paying homage to their former home of Oakland with a special City Edition jersey this season ... which is what Harris received.

The soon-to-be VP pretty much freaked out in excitement over the gesture ... saying, "This means so much to me, you guys."

Curry also showed love for Harris following the results of the election in November ... sending her an autographed Curry #30 jersey. So, yeah, she may need a bigger closet just for her Dubs merch.