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No candidate for U.S. President will burn up the campaign trail like this one ... Afroman is throwing his hat in the ring, and he picked an appropriate week to make it official.

The rapper just filed the paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission required to run for our nation's highest elected office in the 2024 election.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Afroman's presidential committee is named "Joseph Afroman Foreman for President," and he's running as an Independent. We know you were thinking Green Party, but no dice.

TMZ broke the story ... Afroman announced his intention to run back in December during a concert in Missouri, where he told the crowd about his POTUS dreams -- and while others are focused on 2024, he's dubbed it the 20-20-FRO election. 😉

Afroman's platform will unsurprisingly place an emphasis on the national legalization of marijuana ... but it's still unclear where he falls on other international and domestic issues.

Afroman didn't get high and forget to file his paperwork ... the docs are dated April 18 ... so he got his official business out of the way before 4/20. 😂

Afroman's campaign manager Jason Savage tells TMZ... "Afroman’s ongoing persecution by the overtly corrupt Adams County Sheriff’s Department perfectly highlights that this corruption of leadership has trickled down to law enforcement all across the country. Criminal Justice Reform and Federal Marijuana Legalization remain two of the primary planks in his campaign platform. We are asking for your support as Afroman takes on this great and worthy cause as our Cannabis Commander in Chief."

It will be interesting to see if any other celebs run for president this election cycle -- so far, Afroman's the first to make it official.

Kanye West made noise about trying again, but that was before, y'know ... all his antisemitism.

Sen. John Fetterman is going all in on 4/20 ... promoting the unofficial marijuana holiday as part of his broader push to legalize weed nationwide.

The Pennsylvania legislator, who just returned to the Senate this week, posed with a marijuana flag Thursday ... posting a tweet at 4:20 PM with a simple caption, "It's 4:20 on 4/20. That's the tweet."

As you can see, Fetterman's flag reads ... "It's 420 somewhere" ... with pot leaves all over the darn thing.

Fetterman playing into 4/20 jives with his political policies ... he campaigned on legalizing weed at the federal level, and he's been pushing for legalization since his election.

Fetterman's state of Pennsylvania allows medical marijuana, but recreational is against the law. His website says weed should be legal "for jobs, justice, veterans, farmers and revenue."

MyPillow's Mike Lindell will be eating his words right now -- because his company put out a challenge a couple of years back, saying he had proof that China interfered in the election and was egging people to prove him wrong.

The problem? An arbitration panel found that someone did ... and now he's gotta pay up.

Here's the deal, Mike put the "Prove Mike Wrong" challenge out there in 2021 ahead of his so-called cyber symposium in South Dakota. He said he had data showing Chinese interference in the 2020 election and offered up $5 mil to anyone that could prove it wasn't the real deal.

Fast forward to Wednesday -- according to the Washington Post, a private arbitration panel determined 63-year-old Nevada resident Robert Zeidman analyzed Mike's data and in fact proved it didn't show the evidence Mike said it did ... meaning Zeidman's entitled to the dough.

Zeidman put together a 15-page report that he insisted the data did "not contain any information related to the November 2020 election."

Robert reportedly had to go to the arbitrators after Mike's management company denied a payout. They've ordered the company to cough up the cash within the next 30 days. Mike clearly isn't going down without a fight ... telling The Post the arbitrators made a mistake and vowing "This will be going to court!"

Ralph Yarl -- the teenager who survived a close-range shooting which may have been racially motivated, is set to meet with the mother of Ahmaud Arbery ... TMZ has learned.

Ahmaud's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, tells us she asked attorney Lee Merritt -- who reps both her and Yarl's family -- if he could broker a face-to-face so that she could lend the Yarls some moral support during this difficult time ... as she went through something similar.

She says Lee thought it was a wonderful idea, and the wheels are already in motion for a sit-down between them in the near future -- although it's unclear exactly when. As you can imagine, Ralph is still recovering from being shot in the head ... allegedly at the hands of Andrew Lester, who was slapped with criminal charges this week and who's been arrested.

You might've heard ... Ralph was apparently fired upon last week after he rang Lester's doorbell -- mistakenly thinking it was the house his younger siblings were at. His family and family attorneys believe race was a factor ... something investigators are looking into now.

In any case ... Wanda says she thinks she can offer some good advice to both Ralph and his loved ones right now -- telling us that the loss of her son, Ahmaud, came under very similar circumstances ... which, sadly, had a much more tragic result.

She says she wants to let them know that they have her support and that they can get through this trying time ... a road she herself has obviously gone down of late. Wanda tells us she'll be praying for the Yarls through all this too ... and hopes they receive justice.

BTW, Ralph's story is already getting national attention ... including from the White House, which we're told has already reached out to invite him for an in-person visit once he's ready.

The White House encountered a major breach, a potential threat to our national security like never before -- nah, we're kidding, and we sorta mean that literally this time.

A very young boy was too little to be held back Tuesday by a North Lawn gate at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. The fencing is generally an effective way to keep tourists far away from the President's residence, but this kid found a way onto White House grounds.

It's unclear exactly how the toddler got by, but, presumably, he just wormed through the metal rods -- as he certainly looks small enough to squeeze in without issue.

In any case, this little rascal doesn't appear to have gotten far. As you can see in these pics, WH security intercepted him pretty quickly -- and then escorted him back to his parents on the north side. In one photo, he looks like he's being carried by 2 guards -- almost like he's getting a perp walk or something. 😅

Of course, in reality, they were handling him with care ... the boy doesn't look any older than 4 or so. It also seems the security personnel had a good laugh over the whole thing.

Federal law enforcement sources tell TMZ the boy is Canadian and had stopped at the White House with his family to take a picture.

Like we said, the little guy was reunited with Mama and Papa Bear on the other side -- who appeared relieved ... and maybe a little embarrassed. All's well that ends well, though ... the Secret Service called their impromptu guest a "curious young visitor" who triggered their alarms instantly and who was returned without issue. Sources said Secret Service interviewed the family and determined they posed no threat.

Rep. George Santos is apparently trying to cater to the Barbz -- he just introduced a new bill named after Nicki Minaj that's all about vaccines ... so claims one journo.

Semafor's political reporter Kadia Goba tweeted out some news she says she's privy to -- namely, a piece of legislation the New York congressman has supposedly thrown into the House of Representatives for consideration as a would-be law that bears Nicki's name.

She writes, "Ahem. Rep. George Santos just dropped seven bills in the hopper. Among them, The Minaj Act, named for -- yes, you guessed it -- rapper Nicki Minaj establishes a development period for new vaccines in order to generate public confidence."

We've searched Congress's official site and Rep. Santos's official page, which tracks what bills he's sponsored or co-sponsored, and can't find this new bill anywhere. The House is back in session today, so it's possible Goba got a sneak peek before it hits the system.

The bill would be a fascinating play by the embattled Republican, who's been mired in controversy (stemming from his many lies) from day 1.

Still, he seems to be attempting to curry favor with Nicki's fervent fan base already -- just check Twitter and you'll see they're already loving the move ... and, by extension, Santos. Of course, Nicki's history with vaccine skepticism is well-documented from the pandemic.

Remember, she had a whole ballsy story about her cousin and alleged side effects from the vaccine when they were first being rolled out ... a saga for which she caught a lot of flak.

President Biden either had another gaffe in Ireland this past week -- or he really wants to stick to the rest of the world ... or, lick it, rather.

During the final days of his international trip to Ireland, Joe delivered remarks at a banquet dinner in front of state officials -- and toward the end of his speech ... he made a somewhat bizarre request in trying to reaffirm the U.S. and Ireland's commitment to each other.

Here's what he said ... "There’s nothing, and I mean this from the bottom of my heart -- there’s nothing our nations can’t achieve if we do it together. I really mean it."

Then, the strange line ... "So, thank you all. God bless you all.  And let’s go -- let’s go la- -- lick the world. Let’s get it done. Thank you." As you can hear (and see), it seems like JB got a little tongue-tied on that final part ... frankly, it's unclear what he was trying to say.

Of course, some are clowning Biden over this ... either by pointing out that he apparently misspoke ... or facetiously crying foul that Prez is advocating for people to go around licking things in a post-pandemic world, which he clearly was not doing. It was just a slipup.

Bill Maher feels VERY strongly ... Trump's indictment in the Stormy Daniels case will backfire on Democrats, and they have hard proof right before their eyes -- the saga of Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky.

The 'Real Time' host made it clear ... although the Manhattan D.A. indicted Trump on falsifying campaign documents, it's really about having sex with a porn star and trying to cover it up, and that just doesn't land with most Americans.

So Bill took viewers down memory lane -- to the '90s -- when Clinton's affair with Lewinsky unraveled before the public. A special prosecutor had been looking for ANYTHING to nail Clinton, zeroing in on a land deal, but there was nothing.

So the special prosecutor pivoted to one Paula Jones, which eventually led to Lewinsky. Clinton was shamed, allegedly lied about it under oath and was ultimately impeached by the House.  And guess what happened in the end -- his approval rating soared to 73%!!!

As BM says in Trump's case ... "No matter what the underlying legalism, it's all about sex. Law is boring."

Bill thinks if Trump is indicted on the really serious, democracy-threatening matters -- like January 6th or election fraud -- it's not going to resonate as much with the public, because they'll have already seen Trump indicted on something else.

Lady Gaga is getting some political experience, because President Biden is tapping her to co-chair a committee devoted to the arts.

The Prez appointed her Thursday to be Co-Chair of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. She's joining some other big names listed as members, including Jennifer Garner, Shonda Rhimes, and George Clooney ... according to Deadline.

Gaga's fellow co-chair will be producer Bruce Cohen.

Now, this won't get her closer to EGOT status, but it's a glowing honor nonetheless. For those unaware, the PCAH was created in 1982 and its purpose was to address policy questions regarding arts and humanities, and jumpstart partnerships in line with its beliefs.

On top of that, the committee also took time to recognize others who demonstrate excellence in the field -- focusing on things like cultural exchange and education. It was disbanded during the Trump administration, but Biden announced its revival last year.

You'll recall, Gaga had the honor of performing the national anthem during his inauguration ... so he might've had her in mind long before today's announcement -- which officially takes her from the "House of Gucci" to the White House.

The man behind the massive leak of secret U.S. documents that exposed our spying on allies and the dire situation with Ukraine's war against Russia reportedly worked on a military base and released sensitive information in an online chat forum during the COVID pandemic.

Since the document dump last Friday, FBI agents have been working furiously to track down the culprit, while the Pentagon has cut the number of people who have access to the type of classified material that was leaked.

But, it appears the Washington Post has beat the feds to the punch. According to a new report in WAPO, the suspect, identified only as "OG," joined the invitation-only platform, Discord, in 2020 because he felt a kinship with the other members, who were also gun enthusiasts and lovers of God.

OG was seen as a leader of their small network because he claimed to possess confidential information withheld from the general public. But, at first, his fellow members paid no mind to the bizarre acronyms and unfamiliar technical jargon OG used in his often long posts.

Then one member started zeroing in on OG's messages and put two and two together. Indeed, OG's information was coming directly from classified intelligence reports.

WAPO says OG admitted to taking the documents home from his job on a "military base," which barred employees from having electronic devices inside the secure facility for fear they would photograph the sensitive information.

OG told the group that he spent hours formulating the intelligence reports so he could share them on Discord. The online platform was mainly a place where members would go to swap memes, tell jokes and make idle banter during the height of the pandemic. OG, however, used the platform to pontificate about world affairs and secret government ops.

One member told WaPo OG wanted to “keep us in the loop,” and believed his inside knowledge of government secrets offered protection from threats posed across the world.

The member added, “He’s a smart person. He knew what he was doing when he posted these documents, of course. These weren’t accidental leaks of any kind."

As you know, highly classified military documents about the Ukraine/Russia war recently surfaced online, making Pentagon officials panic. The leaked information pointed to holes in Ukraine’s air defense systems and revealed private assessments by allies, including the U.S., on intelligence matters.

A top Pentagon spokesperson has described the leak as a “very serious risk to national security."

Don Lemon stepped in it again Monday, apparently making what he thought was an off-mic remark about Jon Stewart and then, after an awkward pause, backtracking big time.

Don threw to a clip of Jon Stewart interviewing U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, in which Stewart challenged what he called extreme waste in the DOD's $850 billion budget. When Hicks took issue with the waste allegation, Jon shot back ... "I can't figure out how $850 billion to a department means that the rank and file still have to be on food stamps. To me, that's f***ing corruption."

The video of the interview stayed up but the audio cut out, and then you hear Don, apparently talking to his cohosts not realizing his mic was hot, saying, "He gets a lot of leeway with the comedian thing, though." It seems he was talking to his co-anchors and got caught on air.

There was silence for a few seconds, and then Don tried to recover, saying Stewart is so much more than a comedian. He repeated that again.

Donald Trump is doing what he tends to do best in times of crisis -- hitting the links to blow off some steam ... with this weekend being no different for him amid his criminal case.

The ex-Prez was playing a round Saturday morning at his hotel in Miami ... the Trump National Doral, which has four full-blown golf courses to choose from. Unclear which one DT was on in this instance, but he was out there with some pals ... and his MAGA hat to boot.

Dude looks pretty relaxed ... which makes sense, we suppose. This is sorta his happy place, even during the worst of times -- as we've witnessed throughout these past several years.

The only difference now, of course, is that he's under criminal prosecution by the Manhattan D.A.'s Office on 34 felony counts -- most of which stem from the Stormy Daniels hush money incident ... which law enforcement now alleges was directed to be paid at the behest of DT.

He's looked/sounded defiant in the wake of those charges -- especially when he was in NYC this past week to plead not guilty and get processed by cops ... putting on a brave face.

Here, the Don's more mellow, it seems, and there's another thing to consider with this appearance -- namely, the fact that it's Passover right now for Jewish folks ... and not just that, but his hotel there is actually hosting a whole slate of Passover events this weekend.

Donald Trump just can't get enough of himself -- the guy was listening to his own voice featured on a new rendition of our National Anthem ... sung by the Jan. 6 insurrectionists.

The ex-Prez -- who was just rung up on 34 felony counts in NYC Tuesday -- flew back to Mar-a-Lago following his eventful outing in the Big Apple ... where he fired up his supporters with a speech, and engaged in an odd display.

Check out this video, obtained by TMZ, which we're told was recorded not too long after DT's diatribe from the podium -- where he condemned Manhattan's D.A. Alvin Bragg and others involved in his criminal case.

You can see Trump put his hand over his heart along with the rest of the room as they blast "Justice for All" over the speakers -- a song released by a handful of men currently in prison for their participation in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots ... now known as the J6 Choir.

The song is basically them singing the "Star Spangled Banner" interlaced with Trump reciting the Pledge of Allegiance ... which created the awkward sight of Trump standing at attention as he listens to himself.

Patriotic to some, a threat to democracy for others.

The song was put out into the world back in early March and had success on certain charts, believe it or not.

Donald Trump certainly enjoyed the support of some of his family during his big speech Tuesday night following his historic criminal arraignment -- but there was one very important person missing in action: his wife, Melania.

Indeed, Melania was noticeably absent from the mob of supporters who crowded into Mar-a-Lago to listen to the former president rail against the justice system hours after he was arraigned in a Manhattan courtroom.

Three of his five children -- Eric, Don Jr. and Tiffany -- showed up for Trump's defiant speech in which he blasted Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg who charged him with 34 felonies and attacked Judge Juan Merchan who presided over his arraignment.

Trump's two other children -- Ivanka and Barron -- were no-shows. According to the NY Post, Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, were celebrating Passover in Wyoming.

It's not clear why Barron wasn't there, but he's rarely seen at these events because Melania has shielded him from the spotlight over the years.

Melania's absence, though, caught the eye of many observers who wondered why she wasn't present to support her husband after what may be the worst day of his life.

It seemed even more mystifying considering that Melania was at Trump's side during a dinner last Thursday after a Manhattan grand jury had indicted him on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

During Tuesday's arraignment, Judge Merchan threatened to impose a gag order if Trump didn't stop all of his vitriol over the case.

But, as in true Trump fashion, the words went in one ear and out the other. He attacked the D.A., the judge, the judge's wife and his daughter.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene says when it comes to his current legal situation, Donald Trump is just like Jesus Christ and Nelson Mandela ... only Jesus was murdered.

The Georgia lawmaker drew the comparison Tuesday while waiting for Trump to be booked and arraigned in New York City ... making her comments during an interview with Right Side Broadcasting Network from the back seat of an SUV.

MTG says ... "President Trump is joining some of the most incredible people in history in being arrested today. Nelson Mandela was arrested, served time in prison. Jesus was arrested and murdered by the Roman government."

Shortly after MTG said Trump was like Jesus, the former President showed up at the scene ... but he wasn't walking on water, instead opting for a massive motorcade.

On his way to the courthouse, Trump motioned to fans and his protestor enemies outside of Trump Tower... waving and raising his right fist in the air.

MTG also says Trump is joining a long line of "people throughout history that have been arrested and persecuted by radical, corrupt governments and it's beginning, today, in New York City and I just can't believe it's happening but I'll always support him, he's done nothing wrong."

Trump, of course, is facing more than 30 counts of business-related fraud ... including an alleged $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels to shut her up about a supposed affair.

If that doesn't sound like something Jesus would do, Trump's attorney previously compared him to Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. ... another head-scratcher.

Donald Trump's attorney drawing a parallel between the former president and the legendary Tupac Shakur does not sit well with the late rapper's sister ... who says the comparison is absurd and laughable.

Set Shakur, Tupac's sister, tells TMZ ... "My brother was measured by his integrity, his principles and personal and collective responsibility," calling the recent comments made by Trump's attorney, Alina Habba, "blasphemous."

She points out her brother took responsibility during his 1994 sexual abuse trial, and says she isn't seeing a whole lot of accountability coming from DT.

As we reported, Trump's attorney made the connection on the same day he flew to NYC for his indictment. She said his legal trouble is going to boost his poll numbers, just like Tupac's record sales went up after spending time in prison.

Set says Tupac didn't get popular because of his lockup, though -- instead claiming his popularity grew because those who listened to his music "were able to measure him by his words and actions that aligned."

She goes on to praise her late brother, calling him an honorable man who stood for those needing protection ... always having others on his mind.

Set believes DT's attorney might be invoking Tupac's name as a ploy to play to the rapper's fans ... and she's hoping they don't take the bait.