Shia LaBeouf doesn't need a bumper sticker to show his support for Joe Biden ... a face covering will do just fine.
The actor was out Monday morning in L.A. arriving at a film set while also doing his part to stem the spread of the coronavirus. But, Shia's face mask is doing double duty ... because he's using his as a billboard to show his support for the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.
It's a move that's in polar opposition to many of President Trump's supporters ... and we're not talking politically.
The Prez himself was first to politicize face masks by refusing to wear them during most of the pandemic -- and his backers have followed suit.
You'll recall at Trump's Tulsa rally back in June, hardly anyone wore a mask. One supporter even brought a tiny baby into the potentially super-spreading event. Making matters worse ... Trump's campaign staff ordered the removal of social distancing signs, and video clearly shows them doing exactly that.
Kanye West's presidential campaign just got serious, because he's gunning to get on the Ohio ballot, and that state could be a determining factor in who occupies the White House.
Kanye hired a company, Let the Voters Decide, to amass voter signatures in 3 states ... Ohio, West Virginia and Arkansas.
Ye needs 5,000 signatures in Ohio by Wednesday to qualify. We're told more than roughly 90 people are canvassing Ohio, gathering the required number of John Hancocks.
Ohio is one of the 4 swing states that could be a major factor in November. In 2016, Trump won the state by fewer than 500,000 votes. Kanye's not gonna win, but he could be a spoiler. It's unclear who gets hurt more if Ye siphons off votes -- Trump or Biden.
We're told Let the Voters Decide is confident it'll get the necessary 5,000 votes in time to qualify for the ballot.
BTW ... Ohio has 18 electoral votes ... the 7th most in the country.
Congressman Jim Clyburn feels more strongly than ever ... Donald Trump is fashioning his presidency after the likes of Adolf Hitler, and if Americans aren't careful, history can repeat itself.
The veteran Democratic Congressman from South Carolina warned Americans that Trump's latest play -- suggesting the November election should be postponed because of phantom voter fraud -- is further evidence Trump has no intention of leaving The White House, even if he loses.
Clyburn told CNN, "I feel very strongly that Trump is Mussolini, Putin and Hitler... I don’t think he plans to leave the White House. He doesn’t plan to have fair and unfettered elections. I believe that he plans to install himself in some kind of emergency way to hold onto the office"
Clyburn said a few months back ... there have been many warning signs Trump fashions himself as a dictator. The Congressman noted that Trump said earlier this year he was the nation's chief law enforcement officer -- that's not the case, but it's evidence of a dictator trying to consolidate power.
Trump has praised various dictators during his term ... even musing that the U.S. might take a page out of the playbook in China and install its president for life.
More than 100 members of Congress are calling the Capitol their home ... as in, they're living and sleeping in their offices, and at least one member says they are risking the lives of other Members and staff in the middle of the pandemic, and is demanding they sleep elsewhere.
Rep. Jackie Speier is outraged at her colleague, Rep. Louie Gohmert, who rarely wore a mask on the floor of the House and tested positive this week. She says after learning he was positive, he went to the House gym. We have confirmed the gym is open but could not reach Gohmert for comment.
She also says Gohmert has been living in his office and it's simply horrific -- and not safe.
But, Speier's concerns go way beyond Gohmert. She fired off a letter to the Capitol physician and the Architect of the Capitol back in May, saying up to 100 members -- she now says it's more -- sleep in their offices to save money, and she says it's "unprofessional, unhygienic, and even unethical."
In the letter, obtained by TMZ, Speier says, "It raises questions over impropriety and safety if staff members come to work early and stumble upon the member in pajamas or getting dressed."
But, her biggest concern is the virus, saying, "It's highly possible that other communicable diseases have been transmitted more rapidly due to Members living in their offices. House offices were never intended to become homeless shelters for Members and it is high time we stop tolerating the practice."
The practice has not abated. As for Congressman Gohmert, we were unable to find out where he's quarantining.
This is unusual nowadays, but senators on both sides of the aisle are in agreement on something -- President Trump can float the idea of election delays all he wants ... it ain't happening.
We got Sen. Tim Kaine -- a Virginia Democrat and former VP candidate -- on Capitol Hill Thursday, and he reassured voters ... POTUS simply doesn't have the authority to push the November 3 election date.
Now, he admits it might be a challenge convincing the Prez of that, but he also thinks POTUS might have an ulterior motive for raising the issue in the first place.
Sen. Kaine has faith members of Congress -- including Republicans -- will make sure the election goes down as scheduled, and Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana lends credence to that.
Cassidy is a GOP'er and went a little softer on Trump, naturally, and attempted to explain where the Prez was coming from when he tweeted, "Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???"
But, he still came to the same conclusion -- Sen. Cassidy tells us there's no need to delay the election, and he'll support the winner, because the U.S. Constitution tells him so.
As we reported ... Trump's using the false notion of rampant fraud connected to mail-in voting as the basis for all this postponement buzz.
So far, he doesn't seem to have much support, even within his party -- but again, even if they did back him ... the Constitution does not.
Rep. John Lewis' home-going was a rousing, inspiring ceremony -- highlighted by President Obama's eulogy which took aim at President Trump's actions ... while also urging all Americans to vote.
The roughly 3-hour funeral in Atlanta's historic Ebenezer Baptist Church featured speeches from President George W. Bush, President Clinton and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi ... who all spoke before Obama delivered his eulogy for the longtime Congressman and Civil Rights leader.
Obama went after Trump without naming him, saying, “Even as we sit here, there are those in power who are doing their darnedest to discourage people from voting by closing polling locations and targeting minorities, and students with restrictive ID laws and attacking our voting rights with surgical precision; even undermining the postal service in the run-up to an election that’s going to be depending on mail-in ballots so people don’t get sick."
He also invoked George Floyd's memory saying, "Today we witness with our own eyes kneeling on the necks of black Americans" as well as the civil unrest that's been going down for more than 50 straight days in Portland.
Obama had opened his tribute to Lewis, saying ... “It a great honor to be back in Ebenezer Baptist Church in the pulpit of its greatest pastor, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to pay my respects to perhaps his finest disciple.”
Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush sat near the front row as they paid their respects. Bush spoke first, saying ... “We will never forget joining [John] in Selma, Alabama for the 50th anniversary of his march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where we got to watch President Barack Obama thank John as one of his heroes."
President Clinton was up next and warmly quipped, "I must say, for a fella that got his start speaking to chickens John’s gotten a pretty finely organized and orchestrated and deeply deserved sendoff this last week.”
Clinton closed his remarks, saying ... “I would infect every American with whatever it was that John Lewis got as a 4-year-old kid and took through a lifetime to keep moving and keep moving in the right direction and keep bringing other people to move and to do it without hatred in his heart."
The funeral closed with the gospel family the Winans performing an original song, "Good Trouble," written for John Lewis, who famously urged young people to "get into good trouble" ... by being activists.
President Obama had awarded Lewis the Medal of Freedom in 2011, and said during that ceremony ... "Generations from now, when parents teach their children what is meant by courage, the story of John Lewis will come to mind."
The tributes began in Troy, Alabama where he was born, and carried on to Selma's infamous Edmund Pettus Bridge. His body was then flown to D.C. for a memorial in the Capitol rotunda Monday, and finally ... his public viewing Wednesday at the Georgia State Capitol, which drew thousands to pay their respects.
To coincide with his funeral, Rep. Lewis sent an essay to The New York Times 2 days before his death to be published today. In his last words, Lewis called for Americans to "answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe."
He said he was inspired in his final days by the social justice movement following the killing of George Floyd and others, saying ... "You filled me with hope about the next chapter of the great American story when you used your power to make a difference in our society."
The Congressman ended with this ... "walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide."
Herman Cain, once a GOP Presidential hopeful, has died from COVID-19 ... Cain contracted the coronavirus after attending Trump's Tulsa rally.
The businessman and politician's death was announced Thursday on his website. A statement read, "Herman Cain -- our boss, our friend, like a father to so many of us -- has passed away."
Cain fell ill shortly after attending President Trump's rally in Tulsa on June 20 -- he was hospitalized for about a month ... getting oxygen treatments.
Cain posed for a photo, without a mask, at the rally with a caption that read, "Here’s just a few of the #BlackVoicesForTrump at tonight’s rally! Having a fantastic time!"
Remember, at the time of the rally, Oklahoma was in grips of a spike in coronavirus cases. Afterward, reports surfaced that the Trump campaign asked Tulsa venue organizers to remove social distancing signs.
Cain's Twitter account had kept his followers up-to-date on his condition, and a post on Monday -- just 3 days ago -- read, "doctors say his other organs and systems are strong" and that "re-strengthening the lungs is a long and slow process, and the doctors want to be thorough about it." The post added, "He really is getting better, which means it is working."
Cain, who Trump once considered to run the Federal Reserve, is one of the highest-profile public victims of the coronavirus.
The handwriting is now on the wall ... Donald Trump is revealing his plan to stay in office beyond January 20, 2021, and he wants to do so without even having an election.
Trump, who has made false claims about voter fraud, just tweeted, "With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???"
So, Trump is trying to start a groundswell to put off an election where polls show him way behind Joe Biden. The claims of voter fraud have no foundation ... nevertheless, he's been beating that drum for months.
So, why would Trump want to delay the election? Well, we just got word on GDP for the second quarter, and it reached historic proportions, plunging more than 32%. It's pretty obvious Trump wants to stall, hoping for a vaccine and an economic rebound.
The big worry ... Trump might as well just come out and say it ... he's not gonna leave The White House willingly. Bill Maher has been saying that for months, and the evidence is mounting that he's right.
In fact, in 2018, Trump reportedly said this about Chinese President Xi holding the position for life ... "And look, he was able to do that. I think it's great. Maybe we'll have to give that a shot someday." So scary.
Congresswoman Jackie Speier says Congressman Louie Gohmert, who tested positive for COVID-19, is still a clear and present danger to Congress, because he lives in his congressional office, just like more than 100 of his colleagues.
Rep. Speier tells TMZ, Gohmert was reckless all the way, saying he went to the House gym even after he learned he was positive for the virus, putting others at risk. Side note -- interesting the House gym is still open, given that gyms around the country are closed because of COVID.
Speier went on to say Gohmert is now stuck in D.C. ... he certainly can't fly with the virus, and he doesn't have a home in the Nation's capitol, so he sleeps in the Capitol, in his office.
The Congresswoman worries about all the folks who are in contact with him, from other members to staff, to the janitorial crew. She thinks it's ridiculous more than 100 members use their offices as their home. Many members choose to live in their offices because it's too expensive to maintain both a home in their district and in Washington.
Gohmert had been an anti-masker for months, appearing on the House floor without a mask. There are even reports members of his staff were berated for daring to wear masks. He also made a ridiculous claim that messing with the mask on his face may have exposed him to the virus.
Kanye West's self-proclaimed running mate -- though she's yet to confirm this herself -- has returned online with her "spiritual coaching" site ... but gives no indication she's campaigning for West/Tidball 2020.
Michelle Tidball was name-dropped by Kanye as his VP pick in his Forbes interview -- following his surprise July 4 announcement that he's running for Prez -- but very little was known about her ... and her website got yanked shortly afterward.
As we first told you ... Michelle's site, Yarash.org, touted her as a "Biblical life coach" but also included some odd takes on mental health -- such as doing your dishes and making your bed to combat mental illness.
The Yarash site is back up, and though it's been revamped and edited ... it STILL doesn't mention anything about Kanye, being his Veep, or anything political at all really.
Instead, the site is gussied up with new animated graphics, an autumnal color scheme, Hebrew-style font, and tighter copy ... but features her same smiling portrait.
Michelle's old teleconferences and Bible study sessions -- where we discovered her mental health advice -- have been taken down. Her bio has been toned down quite a bit too ... but she's still advertising 50-minute life-coaching sessions for $65.
The Wyoming woman recently stated Kanye was doing "fine" and there was nothing to worry about ... amid his erratic behavior and wild Twitter rants, but she dodged any VP talk.
She said she'd be releasing a statement soon as well, but so far ... all we got is the website relaunch. We reached out for more ... but no word back yet.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be recovering in a hospital bed for the rest of this week after undergoing another medical procedure.
RBG's office says she is resting comfortably at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City after undergoing a minimally invasive, non-surgical procedure Wednesday. Doctors revised a bile duct stent she got last August.
The famously tough cookie is expected to be released from the hospital by the end of the week, according to the Supreme Court, which says RBG's doctors point out stent revisions are common occurrences and the non-surgical procedure was performed to minimize the risk of future infection.
The 87-year-old's hospital trip is her second this month and comes on the heels of Ruth announcing her cancer returned and she recently completed a round of chemotherapy.
The body of late congressman John Lewis arrived and is now lying in state at the Georgia State Capitol ... drawing long lines of constituents looking to pay their final respects.
The procession -- led by a score of police escorts -- weaved its way through downtown Atlanta Wednesday before making its stopping at the Gold Dome for an hours-long public viewing of the closed casket in the State Capitol's rotunda. Lewis, who'd been in Congress since 1987, is only the fourth Black person to lie in state in the Georgia Capitol -- the others being Coretta Scott King, Senator Leroy Johnson and civil rights icon/Lewis' longtime friend, C.T. Vivian.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms were among the dignitaries who greeted the honor guard that arrived with Lewis' body.
The Civil Rights leader will be laid to rest Thursday ... with his funeral taking place at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church beginning at 8 AM PT. Barack Obama will reportedly deliver the eulogy, and former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton are expected to attend.
The funeral will mark the end of a week-long memorial from the nation's capital to Selma ... where the procession traveled across the infamous Edmund Pettus Bridge. That's where a 25-year-old Lewis, and others fighting for voting rights in 1965, was brutalized by cops who fractured his skull.
Lewis and Obama walked hand-in-hand across the bridge back in 2015 on the 50th anniversary of the brutal assault.
Barbie's new line of dolls meant to inspire all girls to raise their voices and get interested in public service quickly got political when Donald Trump Jr. got involved ... but the toy company's shutting him down.
Shortly after the Barbie 2020 Campaign Team -- made up of 4 diverse dolls including a candidate, a campaign manager, a fundraiser and a voter -- was unveiled to "expose girls to public leadership roles and pique their interest in shaping the future" ... Don Jr. used it to take a shot at Democrats.
Don tweeted ... "'Voter' Barbie must be a Democrat because she’s already wearing an 'I Voted' sticker and yet she’s got another ballot in her hand."
Not the most original joke, and according to the makers of Barbie ... it's also inaccurate.
A Mattel spokesperson tells TMZ ... "Barbie is not, and has never been, affiliated with a political party. Barbie has always encouraged girls to stand up for what they believe in and shows them they can be anything."
The Mattel rep adds ... "This doll set highlights a range of leadership roles to pique their interest in shaping the future and raise their voices – from the podium to the polls. This set also provides a tool to allow families to have conversations around important events and cultural moments through play."
Of course, Don Jr.'s joke comes as President Trump continues to push claims mail-in voting is fraudulent and will only benefit Democrats in the upcoming election.
Truth is, there are no facts to back that up ... just like Jr.'s jab at Barbie.
11:53 AM PT -- Jon Ossoff came on ''TMZ Live'' Wednesday to further address Senator Perdue's anti-Semitic ad -- making one thing clear ... he wants the guy and his people to own up to it and apologize to the Jewish community.
UPDATE
Jon repeats what he said online, saying mocking a Jewish person's nose is one of the oldest, least original anti-Semitic tropes out there -- going on to call it such foolishness in a time where the country is already so divided and in need of healing ... not more hate.
UPDATE
As for Sen. Perdue's claim that he nor his campaign were aware of the alteration -- since they apparently used a third-party vendor to whip it up -- Ossoff says there's no excuse for not knowing about it, which he doesn't even believe is the case here with Perdue.
UPDATE
At the end of the day, Ossoff says Perdue's the guy running the campaign ... so he's gotta have the final say and be in the know. Playing dumb and claiming ignorance just won't work. JO says he demands a proper apology, as does the Georgia Jewish community.
UPDATE
Finally, Jon talks about where he thinks this bigotry is emanating from within the GOP -- and it all starts at the top, meaning President Trump. Watch ... he's compelling here in his critique, and he probably ain't too far off in the analysis either.
Georgia Senator David Perdue has pulled an ad that made his Jewish, Democratic opponent's nose look bigger -- claiming it was a flub and not an anti-Semitic trope.
The Facebook ad featured photos of both Jon Ossoff, who's running in Georgia to take Perdue's seat -- as well as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (who's also Jewish) -- with the slogan, "Democrats Are Trying to Buy Georgia!"
In other words, a Jew with an artificially big nose is trying to buy an election. But, Perdue says no anti-Semitism here.
Ossoff responded, saying ... "Sitting U.S. Senator David Perdue's digital attack ad distorted my face to enlarge and extend my nose. I'm Jewish. This is the oldest, most obvious, least original anti-Semitic trope in history. Senator, literally no one believes your excuses."
For his part, Sen. Perdue said the ad was made through a third party, and that any distortion to Ossoff's appearance was an accident. They removed the ad this week.
His campaign added, "Anybody who implies that this was anything other than an inadvertent error is intentionally misrepresenting Senator Perdue's strong and consistent record of standing firmly against anti-Semitism and all forms of hate."
Kanye West is getting super serious in his bid for the White House ... his campaign is beefing up its staff and bringing in tons of folks with political know-how.
Sources close to Kanye tell TMZ ... Yeezy's hired a crack team of political advisors and people with experience to help him navigate how to get on the ballot in more states.
We're told Kanye's advisors are hiring people to work on the campaign. They're also recruiting volunteers, and they've contracted third-party organizations to assist with spreading campaign awareness and getting boots on the ground across the United States.
Our sources say the campaign's main objective right now is gathering enough signatures to get Kanye on the ballot in each of the remaining states.
We're told volunteers are canvassing for signatures in West Virginia -- hitting popular spots like restaurants and shopping malls -- and campaign staffers are working in New York ahead of Thursday's deadline to qualify for the ballot.
In West Virginia, the Secretary of State's office tells us Kanye needs 7,144 signatures by Monday to get on the ballot. If Yeezy gets enough signatures, it will trigger a review to verify every person is indeed a registered voter.
TMZ broke the story ... Kanye's facing a huge hurdle back in his home state, Illinois, where there are several objections over the validity of signatures gathered to get Ye on that state's ballot.
Joe Biden seems to have one particular person in mind for his VP running mate ... it's Sen. Kamala Harris, and there are clues from his notes that accidentally became public.
The presumptive Democratic candidate was taking questions from reporters Tuesday, and at one point ... one of the photogs captured a close-up shot of the notes he had on him, which featured a bullet-point list of topics and highlights ... including a whole section on Harris.
In fact, KH was the first item on Biden's notepad -- under her name were a few things he (or his staff) wanted him to address ... first being, "Do Not Hold Grudges." After that, Biden touched on the fact she's campaigned with him and his wife, Jill, she was talented, she'd be a great help to the campaign and he has great respect for her.
There was talk early on that Biden would pick Harris if he got the nom, but lots of people thought that plan was 86'd after the Senator went after the former VP for his civil rights record during the first debate. That said, Harris is one of the few contenders with executive experience -- She was the D.A. in San Fran and CA Attorney General.
But, there's this ... Biden's top campaign adviser who's helping vet candidates, Chris Dodd, didn't like the fact Harris had "no remorse" when confronted about the way she went after JB. Dodd reportedly considered her attack a cheap shot, and apparently wanted Harris to apologize for it or something, but she didn't. Her reported response, a chuckle and "that's politics."
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For her part, Senator Harris posted a very VP-like photo with Biden a few days ago. So maybe this is more straight-forward than we think ... in any case, we'll find out soon enough.