White House

Pete Buttigieg still has big plans for his political future, but for now, he's down to chill out and catch up on sleep ... until he tries his hand as a late-night TV talk show host.

The ex-presidential candidate says his campaign was just the beginning for him, and even though he dropped out of the race he's still hoping to make himself useful down the line ... which we already know means backing Joe Biden to take on Donald Trump.

For now, though, Pete says he's enjoying the slower pace of life off the campaign trail and will be doing some R, R & R ... resting, recuperating and reflecting.

Buttigieg obviously can't relax for too long -- he's set to guest host Thursday on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and says he'd also love to pop in on "Saturday Night Live."

Rosie O'Donnell's taking her presidential support for Elizabeth Warren and putting it behind Joe Biden -- like it or not -- because she feels he's the best person still in the race who can send Donald Trump packing.

It's not necessarily a ringing endorsement ... nevertheless, we got Rosie outside the Belasco Theatre in NYC Thursday night, and she tells us she's "all in" for Biden now.

She believes the Democrats must and will come together to win in November, something she says the country desperately needs. In case it's not clear -- she thinks Trump's the absolute worst ... and America deserves better.

As for why Biden and not Bernie Sanders ... Rosie believes Bernie has a ceiling and he's already hit it, and he'll eventually join the Democratic force too.

Andrew Yang's still got his eye on the White House ... because he'd be stoked to be Joe Biden's vice president.

The former presidential hopeful joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday and we asked if he'd say yes to an offer to be Biden's running mate if Joe's the nominee. Andrew tells us he'd jump at the chance, and thinks he could bring a lot to the table.

The way Andrew sees it, he could help Biden in some areas where he could be lacking ... namely, appealing to younger voters. Andrew says the Yang Gang makes him feel young, even at 45. It could work on Biden too.

Remember ... Andrew had the most fun of any candidate on the campaign trail, hanging with Donald Glover and doling out whipped cream shots to kneeling supporters.

Andrew tells us he's still considering a run for mayor of New York City -- he wants a high-impact executive role somewhere -- but he knows being Veep gives him the best chance to make the country stronger.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez believes in her heart of hearts Bernie Sanders is the guy to beat Trump -- that said ... she'll support Joe Biden if he's the one who takes on Trump.

We got the Congresswoman in D.C. Wednesday -- after Biden cleaned up on Super Tuesday -- and asked her straight-up ... will she support the guy if he wins the Democratic nomination come July, despite being a Sanders supporter and seemingly immovable.

Watch ... AOC says she would, but might need to hold her nose a little. Fact is ... she says she'll always support the party, but notes JB is a thing of the past -- and Bernie is the future.

For her it's pretty simple -- AOC says Bernie's message and platform is very clear and resonates with working-class people. Meanwhile, Biden's platform seems to just be ... beat Trump? That's not good enough for her, and she thinks many feel the same.

It's Super Tuesday, when much of America chooses who they want to go up against President Trump, and Hollywood's making sure to get in its 2 cents.

Celebs also made sure to lock in their selfies -- along with their ballots -- as Americans across 14 states hit voting booths. On the national stage it's all about the Democratic Party primaries with former VP Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Michael Bloomberg still in the running. There are a few others technically in the running, but with little chance to nab the nomination.

In any case, check out the famous faces who exercised their right to vote. We got stars like Tyra Banks, Melissa McCarthy, Eric Andre, Ali Wong, Camila Cabello, Tracee Ellis Ross, Wilmer Valderrama, Kerry Washington, Ronda Rousey, Topher Grace, Laura Dern and many more.

Some of 'em wore their candidates right on their sleeves -- like Marissa Ross with her Bernie "Rage Against the Machine" tee -- but most kept their votes private.

Hillary Clinton is at our doorstep once again -- but she's still sitting on a fence politically ... not quite ready to endorse Joe Biden, and per usual, taking shots at Bernie Sanders.

The former Secretary of State walked into the ABC Studios Tuesday in NYC, where she was set to plug the new Hulu doc about her life, "Hillary," while also talking shop on a day folks in 14 states are voting in their respective Democratic primaries. No endorsements, though.

HC was asked why she hadn't gotten behind Biden yet, as so many others did on Monday night -- including several ex-candidates like Buttigieg, Klobuchar and O'Rourke.

She says it's still early in the game, and it sounds like she's waiting to see who the country ultimately picks before offering her support. FWIW, Barack hasn't endorsed anyone either.

As for her old friend Senator Sanders ... still no love lost there. Hillary says she thinks it's BS he wants to tweak the convention rules about super delegates and give the nomination to the candidate who walks in with the most votes day of. He settled for the opposite in 2016.

In her doc, she says Bernie got nothing done in Congress and that nobody liked him or wanted to work with him.

Michael Bloomberg's successful career in business would almost certainly translate to success in the White House ... so says Barbara Corcoran.

The "Shark Tank" star spoke to us Monday on "TMZ Live" and told us exactly why she thinks Bloomberg's incredible rise in the marketplace proves he's got the chops to lead the country. Watch ... she says guys like him are well-versed to be deft decision-makers.

Perhaps more importantly ... Barbara says Bloomberg knows how to solve problems.

One of the other notable things BC likes about MB ... the guy built his empire in an honest way, coming from nothing and amassing a 60-plus billion-dollar fortune. Barb says that's more than some politicians in office today can say -- *cough* Trump *cough,* perhaps?

Of course, Bloomberg's facing challenges along the campaign trail -- the biggest seems to be his past controversial comments about stop-and-frisk, which dog him to this day.

Public Enemy is moving forward without one of its original (and more memorable) founders -- the one and only Flavor Flav is out ... this after a big argument over a Bernie Sanders rally.

The legendary hip-hop group permanently fired their longtime member Sunday night, saying ... "Public Enemy and Public Enemy Radio will be moving forward without Flavor Flav." They continued, "We thank him for his years of service and wish him well."

The ax comes after Flav fired off a cease-and-desist letter to the Sanders campaign last week, accusing them of using FF's image and likeness in a scheduled performance Chuck D and the rest of the guys had planned to put on in support of Bernie out here in L.A.

The writing was clearly on the wall from the get-go -- Bernie and co. announced they were having Public Enemy Radio perform at their rally ... which confused some folks.

That group is an off-shoot of the OG Public Enemy, and they do shows without Flav, which they've apparently been doing for a little while on and off. Fact is ... Flav and Chuck haven't been cool for years -- ever since FF sued the group over profits he claimed he was owed.

As for this final salvo ... Chuck went on Twitter and wrote, "last final note the last final note was my last straw was long ago. It’s not about BERNIE with Flav... he don’t know the difference between BarrySanders or BernieSanders he don’t know either."

No love lost between old friends, it seems.

Pete Buttigieg is throwing in the towel in his bid for the presidency -- he's reportedly set to suspend his campaign ahead of Super Tuesday.

According to reports, the former South Bend mayor is dropping out after performing poorly on Saturday during the South Carolina primary ... where he came in at a distant fourth, only racking up about 8% of the vote which was largely made up of African-Americans.

Pete won the Iowa Caucus by a thin margin, but has largely underperformed in the races after that. So far, he's got 26 delegates to his name -- while Biden now has 53 and Bernie Sanders (the proverbial so-called front-runner) has amassed 60 to himself.

Elizabeth Warren has just 8 delegates, and Amy Klobuchar has only 7 -- no signs yet of either of them cutting bait ... it's interesting PB called uncle first, seeing how the big contest was around the corner. On Tuesday, a whopping 1,357 pledged delegates are up for grabs.

The Democratic nominee needs only 1,991 of those pledged delegates to claim victory.

Part of the problem for Pete thus far has been his inability to win over black voters, or voters of color in general. He made lots of efforts to do so, but in the end ... they just weren't with him. Of course, he was also battling homophobia within the party as well.

Pete was the first openly gay major presidential candidate to make a run at the White House. There've been others before him, but he was the first with a legitimate shot. He was also the youngest candidate in the race -- coming in 38 years old, while everyone else remaining is well over 50 and beyond.

Buttigieg was becoming a favorite among moderate voters in the Democratic Party -- being seen as a more stable option than someone like Sanders. Biden fits that bill too though ... it'll be interesting to see if he picks up Pete as a running mate in the weeks to come.

Michael Bloomberg's controversial past with minorities and people of color isn't going away -- that much is clear by the striking protest he received during an event in Selma.

The billionaire media mogul and ex-NYC Mayor was among the many Democratic candidates in Alabama this weekend to commemorate the 55th anniversary of Bloody Sunday -- when hundreds of civil rights marchers were brutally beaten by cops during a demonstration.

At this particular service at the Brown Chapel AME Church -- where Bloomberg and Joe Biden delivered remarks -- a handful of people stood up and turned their backs when Mike stepped to the podium. It was done in silence, and they sat down when he finished.

The pastor who intro'd him, Reverend Leodis Strong, said he thought it was important for MB to show and to speak ... and for people to hear him out on how he's changed. Clearly, not everyone felt that way.

Of course, Bloomberg has come under fire for old comments he made about the policy he adopted when he was in power -- namely, unchecked and blatantly racist implementation of stop-and-frisk by the NYPD. At first, Bloomberg said it was effective to deter crime.

Later, he scaled it back and eventually apologized for his words. Apparently, some folks aren't accepting his apology. It should be noted, more people didn't protest than those who did.

Bloomberg's looking to rake in delegates for the first time on Tuesday -- when several states will hold primaries and offer up a third of the needed share to claim victory.

Bernie Sanders is on the go all the time -- which seems to have given him a momentary case of a campaign brain fart as he accidentally boarded the wrong jet.

The Democratic front-runner was spotted Saturday making his way off of a private Gulfstream between campaign stops in South Carolina and Massachusetts -- the latter being where he held a rally at Boston Common ahead of Super Tuesday.

Fact is ... the S.C. primary looks like it's gonna go to Joe Biden, as he's well ahead of everyone else in the latest polls. Looks like Bernie's cutting his losses and moving on.

As for this little mix-up here, it's kinda funny. Bernie's been flying all over the country for different campaign events -- so the guy's definitely busy and has a preoccupied mind at the moment. Mistakes like this (getting on the wrong Gulfstream) are bound to happen.

Some have criticized Sanders for flying private at all -- seeing how he rails against billionaires and elites. In fact, earlier this month ... he was spotted boarding a private aircraft while Liz Warren got on her own jet as they both flew back to D.C. from different locations just 36 minutes apart. The implication ... they coulda flown together, spared the air, etc.

Down in South Carolina, someone alleged he had as many as three Gulfstreams to himself to get somewhere just a couple hours away. Unclear if that's true, but here's something to keep in mind.

Tom Steyer tried one last Hail Mary to gain traction in the South Carolina Primary -- bringing up Juvenile at a campaign rally ... and shaking what his momma gave him.

The billionaire Democratic candidate held one final event Friday night in Columbia before voters went to the booth the next day, and it seems he was trying to appeal to a younger (or older perhaps) demographic ... 'cause he invited Juvenile and DJ Jazzy Jeff onstage.

What happened next is quite a sight ... in a good way, of course. Tom and some of the other staffers attempted to get down to "Back That Azz Up," Juvenile's smash hit. It was ... interesting, to say the least. Yeah, let's call it that -- a good old college try in other words.

We'll give Tommy and co. this much ... they definitely go all-in on the poor dancing, cringe and all. And hey, ya can't really blame the guy -- this is kinda his last realistic chance at staying in this thing. Especially in light of him getting thrashed earlier last week by his key opponent in the race ... ex-Vice President Joe Biden, who's banking on a big win.

ICYMI ... Joe shut Steyer down during Tuesday's latest Democratic debate in the Lowcountry -- basically telling him to pipe down when TS tried chirping up and interrupting the Veep.

Travis Kelce says he CAN'T WAIT to celebrate his Super Bowl victory at the White House -- telling TMZ Sports he WILL join his KC Chiefs teammates when they meet President Trump.

"Oh, yeah! Always, man!" Kelce told us in NYC on Wednesday. "Crazy opportunity!"

Not everyone on the team feels the same way ... Chiefs stud defensive end Frank Clark told the Kansas City Star he's got "mixed emotions" about the White House trip.

"I know historically ... that’s something you do as a Super Bowl champion. But we’ll see, man. It’s a lot of mixed emotions about stuff going on there. We’ll see."

Head coach Andy Reid is a firm "yes" -- telling reporters at the Super Bowl, "I mean, I’ll be there. I'll be there. If they’re inviting us, I’ll be there. It’s quite an honor, I think."

Ditto for Tyreek Hill -- who said, "That would be great to go to the White House. I’ve never been to D.C., so that would be great."

Starting CB Bashaud Breeland just told us a few days ago he's pumped for the celebration as well.

As for Trump, earlier this month he told reported he's excited to host the Chiefs -- "Every one of them wants to be here. And the coach loves us. The coach is great. Andy Reid."

There's been a ton of controversy surrounding the White House visits over the past few years -- with several high profile players -- and even full teams -- boycotting the tradition.

The Golden State Warriors famously blew off Trump after winning the NBA title in 2017 and 2018 -- instead opting to celebrate with President Obama.

MLB stars like Mookie Betts and Nationals closer Sean Doolittle have also turned down White House invites.

We asked Kelce how the rest of his teammates are feeling about the visit ... but he told us he hasn't had the chance to speak with them yet.

Andrew Gillum's not hung up on the "electability" of Bernie Sanders or other democratic candidates for Prez, because he thinks it'll work itself out ... but he's NOT down with signing on as VP with any of them.

We got the former candidate for Florida governor Tuesday at LAX ... and he says he trusts the process of our nation's voting system in choosing the right person to go against Donald Trump.

As he puts it ... voters aren't casting their ballot for a candidate they think is going to lose the presidential race.

So, we ask Andrew how he'd feel about getting involved in the race himself -- as the Dem's candidate for Vice President -- and he shoots it down ... saying he's trying to help everyone on his side.

Check it out, though ... Gillum's got a compelling reason for declining the honor of Veep ... but he doesn't QUITE say it's completely out of the question.

In fact, as far as hypotheticals go ... he admits it's a doozy.