White House

Pete Buttigieg is now the Democratic favorite in Iowa, but he might have even more good fortune based on how his odds stack up against Donald Trump's from 4 years ago.

According to USBookies.com, Mayor Pete is in a similar position to Donald Trump during the same time frame -- 1 year out from the 2016 election. Pete is sitting at a 6/1 chance to nab the Democratic nom, while Trump was 3/1 around this time in 2015. As for the Presidency -- Pete's odds are 12/1 and Trump was at 10/1. Pretty dang close, if you ask us.

The odds were set by gamblers betting on USBookies.com, BTW.

As for who's gonna take the big prize next November, Trump is still the odds-on favorite -- regardless of who runs against him -- at 6/5.

Back to Pete though ... the reason why it's interesting that he's got a bit of a Trump vibe (to his odds, that is) around the same time the guy did back then is because -- like DT -- Mayor Pete is very much viewed as a dark horse candidate.

Take into consideration that he is now the leading candidate out in Iowa as of Tuesday, and it makes ya wonder if he'll have the same success Trump himself had in the run-up to 2016.

Johnny Damon says players like Sean Doolittle and Steph Curry should NOT ditch The White House because of President Trump ... telling TMZ Sports it's the perfect time to make their voices heard with the leader of the free world!

Of course, it's become a major debate in sports ... with huge athletes boycotting celebratory visits to 1600 Penn. as a way to stick it to POTUS.

So, when we saw Damon, we spoke with the ex-Yankees superstar about some Washington Nationals players like Doolittle, Anthony Rendon and more deciding to sit out the trip last weekend ... and JD says that's the WRONG thing to do.

"That's one of the things you wanted to do when you won the World Series was go to The White House, regardless of what political affiliation you may or may not have," Damon told us outside Capitale in NYC.

"I think it's a great thing and if you do have an issue, that's the greatest time to talk about the issues that you see and try to make things work."

Damon says there's too much hate going around between both sides ... and refusing to talk it out isn't gonna make anything better.

"I'm glad the Nationals went there. I'm glad there was a great support for the president. I hope other teams elect to go in the future so they can talk about the issues that are bothering them."

As for those who DID go to The White House ... the visit looked, uh, interesting. Just ask Kurt Suzuki.

Dan Bilzerian says he's running for president in 2024 -- acknowledging he might just have to campaign against a fellow celeb in Kanye West ... who might have a better shot.

We got the playboy gambler Saturday at STAPLES Center -- where he caught the Logan Paul fight -- and asked about some of the craziest poker games he's been in and which players were involved. He says he's thrown down cards with Kevin Hart ... not Jay-Z though.

Our camera guy followed up by asking what Dan thought of Ye reaffirming his decision to make a run at The White House in a few years ... with a new name at that.

He says Kanye's better than Hillary Clinton, for sure -- seems he's not a fan of HC -- but then drops a bit of a bomb on us with an announcement of his own ... he wants to run himself.

It's unclear if he's kidding or not, but we'll take him at his word and count this as an official presidential proclamation -- DAN BILZERIAN FOR POTUS 2024. Time will tell, we suppose. Then comes an interesting question ... who gets President Trump's endorsement???

President Trump finally came to a sporting event where the fans didn't totally hate him -- or at least partially hate him -- and it only took a trip out to MAGA country to do it.

DT flew out to Tuscaloosa, Alabama Saturday to catch the Crimson Tide play the LSU Tigers at Bryant-Denny Stadium -- and when his presence was announced ... the crowd lost their minds, cheering on the Prez and giving him a resounding round of applause and standing O.

That's gotta feel nice for 45, considering he's kinda been getting s**tted on lately at public events like this, including on his own turf in Washington D.C. ... where he got booed.

Some members of the Nats crowd even chanted "Lock Him Up!" and even hung an "Impeach Trump" banner. There were, of course, some cheering too -- but mostly boos.

Ditto for the UFC event Trump attended just last week in Madison Square Garden, where he was booed and cheered alike -- with the bad reactions coming through just a tad louder. Trump wrote that he felt it was like a Trump rally, but the videos speak for themselves.

Fast-forward to Saturday ... and DT seems to be back in good company. BTW, DT won Alabama in the 2016 presidential election by about 30% or so. He got nearly 63% of the electoral votes at the time, while Hillary Clinton racked up just 34%. Alabama's traditionally votes red.

Kate Flannery realizes she probably brought a knife to a gun fight as far as challenging Sean Spicer on "Dancing with the Stars," but says all his Presidential support might alienate core 'DWTS' fans.

We spoke to the 'Office' star Wednesday on "TMZ Live" on the heels of her elimination, and asked why she thinks Spicer keeps getting through ... despite the judges giving him incredibly low scores.

Kate -- who had to bow out after dancing a jive - says Sean's obviously got the backing of President Trump ... which goes a long way in this country. Whether he deserves to be there or not is almost irrelevant --  as she notes, it's really a popularity contest.

She rightfully points out that she's got her own fanatic base herself, especially after her old 'Office' costar, Steve Carell, gave her a shout-out -- and adds that 'Office' fans have been more than supportive in her 'DWTS' bid.

But, when push came to shove ... the power of Trump was too great to overcome for Dunder Mifflinites. And, that's a shame for dance fans, according to Kate ... who says a bad dancer like Spicer winning, purely on fan votes, would hurt the show.

Donald Trump REALLY made the Nationals feel at home at the White House on Monday ... having his band welcome the team with their favorite song, "Baby Shark!"

The Nats adopted the adorable tune throughout their World Series run (it all stemmed from Gerardo Parra's walk-up song) ... and Trump made sure it was the first thing the team heard at their celebration ceremony.

Ya gotta hear the band play it ... it's an awesome rendition -- and the Nats just had to dance along on the White House stairs!!

As for the rest of the party at 1600 Penn., it went smooth for POTUS ... Nats catcher Kurt Suzuki said some words with a MAGA hat on -- while jokes about Max Scherzer's arm and impeachment drew some big laughs.

Trump also bragged about the attendance for the celebration ... calling the turnout record-setting.

Ryan Zimmerman then presented Trump with a No. 45 Nationals jersey ... before Nats manager Dave Martinez and the President clowned the umps for their controversial base-running call in Game 6.

The heroic dog that helped take down ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Syria will not be awarded the Medal of Honor.

Conan the Dog rose to fame when President Trump tweeted a picture of the K9 used in the special ops mission. He even retweeted a doctored photo of Conan being decorated with the Medal of Honor. And, the dog is going to The White House next week, so it seemed a medal was in the offing.

A Dept. of Defense spokesperson tells TMZ, animals are not eligible to receive hardware like the Medal of Honor. So, the only perk the pooch might get is something from McDonalds.

Trump said Conan was injured during the raid, but it doesn't seem like it was that bad, because she was back on active duty a day or so later.

UFC star Jorge Masvidal says fighting in front of President Trump will be a "humbling" experience ... telling TMZ Sports he's honored to put on a show in front of POTUS!!!

As we previously reported ... a TON of star power will be watching Masvidal take on Nate Diaz for the "Bad Mother F**ker" belt at MSG on Saturday -- from The Rock to Robert Kraft to yes, the President of the United States of America!!!

Masvidal says politics aside, it's a once in a lifetime moment at UFC 244 ... and he's going to make the best of it, saying some fighters who love Trump will never even get this opportunity.

"Not every fighter can say, 'Hey, the president is showing up to my fight', you know? So, that's humbling in itself."

Of course, with Masvidal being from Miami, we had to ask about Dwayne Johnson being there as well ... and he says the whole event is such a big deal, he can't even think about all of the hype until AFTER the fight.

Julian Castro is the Castro twin running for President, but that doesn't mean his brother -- Rep. Joaquin Castro -- isn't thinking about protecting his own neck, IF Julian goes the distance.

We ran into the Castro twins Monday at Reagan National Airport in D.C., but instead of talking to the Democratic candidate -- we've talked to Julian plenty before -- we got the Congressman's take on something pretty fascinating.

Seeing as how they're identical twins ... would Joaquin be eligible for his own Secret Service detail, if his bro were commander in chief?

Joaquin certainly hopes so! As he tells us ... people still mistake him for Julian a lot, even though Joaquin's switched some things up about his look.

Apparently, it hasn't been enough ... 'cause he says plenty of folks can't believe they're seeing Julian in the flesh, even though they're not.

The distinguished gentleman from Texas cops to going along with it sometimes. Hey, it's good, clean, twin-brotherly fun.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says President Trump is intentionally stirring up racial outrage in America by comparing his potential impeachment to a "lynching" ... and she believes it's all part of his master plan.

We got AOC on Capitol Hill Tuesday morning, and she ripped into the President for the tweet that definitely got America buzzing -- equating his impeachment inquiry to mob violence. She got kinda choked up as she called his use of slave imagery "horrifying."

She says what's even more disturbing is Trump using the word "lynching" on purpose. The freshman Congresswoman pulled back the curtain on what she believes POTUS is doing -- and it's all about riling up his base ... no matter how divisive it is to the country.

That being said ... AOC says folks can't allow Trump's rhetoric to become normalized, and she poses some important questions about America's future.

The St. Louis Blues celebrated their Stanley Cup title at the White House on Tuesday ... with President Trump crackin' jokes and picking hypothetical fights with the players!!!

The champs were honored at 1600 Penn. for beating the Boston Bruins in Game 7 to win it all last season ... and one player, Alexander Steen, got POTUS' attention (for obvious reasons).

"Look at that guy, look at the mouth on that guy," Trump told the crowd. "Come here a minute, come here."

"You think he's taken a few hits? You think I could take him in a fight?! I don't know."

There was more funny business ... with the stars of the team, like Jaden Schwartz, issuing a golf challenge to POTUS ... and Trump calling out rookie Jordan Binnington for giving up ONE goal in Game 7.

"He stopped 32 of 33 [shots], so why didn't you stop the other one, Jordan? You coulda made the game a lot easier!"

An insanely violent movie scene parody video following a fake Donald Trump as he shoots, stabs and kills political rivals and media outlets is being condemned ... and The White House says the President agrees.

The video -- an edited version of the church massacre scene from the film "Kingsman: The Secret Service" -- was reportedly played at a pro-Trump conference by his supporters at his Trump National Doral Miami resort last week.

In the vid, the fake Trump begins a killing spree at the "Church of Fake News" of the major media outlets and news sites like Politico, NPR, Slate, The Hill, HuffPo and Vice News ... along with the activist movement Black Lives Matter.

He also assaults or murders critics like John McCain, Mitt Romney, Maxine Waters, Rosie O'Donnell, Bernie Sanders, Adam Schiff and Barack Obama ... before putting a stake in the head of a person with a CNN logo for a face.

Presidential candidate Julian Castro says the NBA should seize the opportunity to push America's constitutional principles in China, even if it ends up costing the league millions.

The Democratic hopeful came on "TMZ Live" Wednesday to discuss the international feud between the league and the Republic, over Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey's comment supporting Hong Kong protesters.

Julian firmly believes the NBA -- and other American companies doing biz in China -- have to draw an ethical line in the sand ... even if that means pressuring a foreign country to adopt America's ideals about freedom of speech and the right to protest.

Kim Kardashian has another presidential notch in her belt, but she brought some backup this time -- her sis, Kourtney Kardashian -- for a tete-a-tete with Armenia's big cheese.

The eldest Kardashians met President Armen Sarkissian Tuesday night ... breaking bread with him, and a small group, at the presidential palace.

Kim was business chic for the meeting -- a stylish suede-looking suit and diamond necklace ... while Kourt went with a black suit and a white blouse. Translation: Classy.

The leaks coming from the White House are now crossing into the animal kingdom ... because a mouse fell out of a ceiling, sending reporters into a frenzy!!!

The wild scene went down Tuesday morning at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, when a mouse plunged through the ceiling in the press booth and landed in a journo's lap.

Members of the media were obviously shocked by the rodent's rude entrance, with reporters scurrying out of their seats.

A mouse hunt ensued ... and video shows the furry critter darting behind tables and equipment, eluding capture. One reporter even busted out a broom, but the mouse got away.

By all accounts, the mouse is still on the loose after escaping the office area ... and it was last seen running wild in the White House press briefing room.

Robert De Niro obviously had A LOT more to say about the possible impeachment of President Trump, going on a CNN morning show and dropping f-bombs from the sky.

The actor was on Brian Stelter's "Reliable Sources" Sunday morning as a special guest, where he was asked about the impeachment inquiry opened against DT this past week ... and where he thinks things will go from here. Similar to our question, of course.

You'll recall ... we asked Bob just Saturday about this issue, and he somewhat surprised us by saying he'd actually rather have Mike Pence in office ... if it meant getting Donnie out.

Welp, RDN expanded on that a little with the CNN host ... making a pretty serious claim that he believes POTUS demonstrates "crazy" behavior, and he seemed to mean it literally. Stelter asked him if he was saying "crazy" in a medical sense, and Bob said possibly.