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President Trump knows preventing the spread of coronavirus requires social distancing, wearing masks and avoiding large gatherings -- especially indoors ... yet he still held a rally for thousands inside a manufacturing facility Sunday night.

In his latest demonstration of total disregard for medical science and the health and safety of his supporters ... Trump held his second political rally in 2 days in Nevada.

The Sunday night event in Henderson defied the state's ban on local gatherings of 50 people or more -- and based on the images, there was no attempt to enforce mask-wearing or social distancing.

Trump supporters sitting directly behind him were given masks to put on as they sat in the crowded section, but everyone else in the audience was mostly maskless ... and packed in like sardines.

Obviously, the rally is a major cause for concern as it looks to have the makings of a COVID-19 super-spreader event -- not unlike the one Trump held back in June in Tulsa.

In the weeks after that rally, Tulsa saw a surge in coronavirus cases. Multiple campaign staffers, along with Secret Service agents, also tested positive, and as you'll recall ... Herman Cain attended the rally and later died from COVID-19.

Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak is now blasting the President for ignoring his state's COVID restrictions and emergency orders for his own political gain, describing Trump's rally as "reckless and selfish actions that are putting countless lives in danger here in Nevada."

Senator Chuck Schumer just tried his hand at stand-up alongside one of the comedy greats, Jerry Seinfeld, and we gotta say ... he ain't half bad!!!

Chuck was in NYC Sunday at the famous Gotham Comedy Club, where he and Jerry were pitching a new bill the Senator from New York wants to get introduced in Congress ... which will help fund comedy clubs and live venues throughout the city to keep them afloat.

While they were talking shop, Schumer eventually waded into the humor side of things and told a verrry long joke ... which came to him courtesy of his retired parents, who took a college humor course and told it to him.

We'll let Chuck do the talking here, but short story long ... it's about a lady who comes before a judge for being a kleptomaniac -- and who gets no love from her hubby in the end.

You gotta watch for yourself, 'cause it's actually pretty hilarious ... and Sen. Schumer has great timing and delivery. It's funny too, Jerry turned to the folks in the room who might not have gotten it at first to explain the punchline. The whole thing's a riot.

In self-deprecating fashion, Chuck joked he was probably at the first level of comedy that Jerry outlined in his own remarks -- but frankly, he's selling himself short. Dude's funny.

Joe Biden just got a massive infusion of money that will be pouring into what could be the make-or-break state ... thanks to the deep pockets of Michael Bloomberg.

The former NYC Mayor and current billionaire announced Sunday he's committing $100 million to defeat Donald Trump in Florida.

It's incredibly significant because according to some polls the race in Florida is tightening.  Biden is ahead in most polls, but generally within the margin of error. Bloomberg wants to target Latino voters ... Biden has support among Latinos, but relative to other Democrats his support is somewhat soft.

Bloomberg's not keeping his strategy under wraps. His people said in announcing the donation, "Mike's substantial investment in Florida will allow Democrats and the Biden campaign to invest heavily in other key states like Pennsylvania ... And, this will force Republicans and the Trump campaign to shift even more of their limited resources to Florida."

True to form, Trump responded on Twitter with name-calling, saying, "I thought Mini Mike was through with Democrat politics after spending almost 2 Billion Dollars, and then giving the worst and most inept Debate Performance in the history of Presidential Politics. Pocahontas ended his political career on first question, OVER! Save NYC instead."

Kanye West just got schooled on what a 5:00 PM deadline means in Wisconsin -- in one judge's view ... which, for now, is keeping Ye off the ballot there, and it's all over 14 seconds.

A circuit court magistrate ruled this week that Kanye was, in fact, too late by submitting his nomination docs last month to get his name on the ballot come November ... even though his team got it in 14 seconds after 5 o'clock, which they felt was still inside the window.

Not the case, so says Judge John Zakowski. Hizzoner writes, "The court believes at the time a grandfather clock rings out five times is the moment it is 5 p.m. Any time after that is precisely that: after 5 p.m." Oof, tough crowd. But wait, there's more to his rationale.

Judge Zakowski goes on to explain ... "The court used the analogy of midnight. There is significant difference between 11:59:59 p.m. and one second after midnight. The passage of a second after midnight confers an entirely new day." Hmmm, we suppose he has a point.

In other words, a late registration from Kanye ... quite literally. And thus, he isn't eligible to rock the vote on November 3rd. That said, Ye could take one last shot in this legal fight.

There's the option of appealing to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and if Kanye and co. do that ... they might actually have a more favorable ruling. Fact is, a majority of those justices lean conservative -- and they could interpret the deadline rules a little differently.

Considering Wisconsin is a big swing state in this election ... he might wanna consider it. Not only that, but Dems there are already trying to rally the base with some cool celeb appearances -- namely, a 'Parks & Rec' Q&A session this month with a bulk of the cast. The goal is getting Wisconsin folks to vote.

Marco Rubio's weighing in on President Trump's threat to defund schools that use "The 1619 Project," saying POTUS is misguided -- but he's also challenging the project's view of American history.

We got the Florida Senator at Reagan National Airport in D.C. Thursday, and he initially sided with Trump when he said he believes '1619' is "historically flawed" ... telling us the country was founded in 1776, not 1619.

It's interesting, though, because Rubio doesn't seem to oppose the goal of the project ... which is telling the full truth about slavery being at the center of U.S. history.

Marco admits generations of U.S. leaders have not lived up to the promise of equality in our Declaration of Independence, and concedes the '1619 Project' isn't all bad.

Thursday, the creator of '1619,' Nikole Hannah-Jones, told us Trump doesn't have the power to defund schools, despite his threats, and blasted him for misleading the public in order to stoke more racial division.

President Trump's threat to defund schools implementing the "1619 Project" in history classes is just another divisive election tactic, but he's fighting a losing battle ... so says the creator of the progressive U.S. history initiative.

Nikole Hannah-Jones is the investigative journalist directing '1619,' and she's pushing back on the President's opposition of the project by suggesting he has racial motives ... and not the best interest of the U.S. in mind, as he has claimed.

Nikole joined "TMZ Live" to clarify what the project is all about, and quell the notion being stirred by Trump and others that it's a mission to change history and make people hate America.

Instead, she says its goal is to help Americans learn from their true history -- starting with the year African slaves were first brought to U.S. soil. Nikole says learning the truth about something rarely taught in traditional history classes will provide the perspective Americans need to strive toward the ideals upon which the country was founded.

Just as importantly, she says it will help Americans better understand why millions are marching and protesting today for social justice.

Nikole also points out that despite Trump's threats, he's powerless to direct what is taught in schools ... and can't pull funding as he's threatened to do in California.

"The truth is, the '1619 Project' is already being put into practice in many schools across the country, teaching students about the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans to the nation's history."

Joe Exotic's team has great timing -- or awful, depending on your perspective -- as they're handing his pardon request to President Trump on a day when there's A LOT going on in the Oval Office.

The Tiger Team leader, Eric Love, flew into D.C. Wednesday night with Joe's lawyers, packing a 257-page document he calls 4 months worth of hard work ... and he tells us it fully proves Joe's innocent.

As Eric says, this is the team's second major attempt to grab the President's attention ... but this time around they have more than a huge bus to persuade him to pardon Joe, and are even more optimistic about their pitch.

We asked him if going to the White House as the President's embroiled in controversy over his recorded convos with Bob Woodward was a good idea.  Eric thinks this timing could work in Joe's favor, and Trump's too.

As we first told you, Joe's 257-page case argues various reasons why he should be pardoned from his 22-year murder-for-hire sentence ... including a claim that he was sexually assaulted behind bars.

Love apparently has an in at the White House to deliver the goods, and he tells us Joe is so focused on the mission, he's even moved past hating on his rival Carole Baskin ... and wishes her well on "Dancing with the Stars."

Ice Cube has a list of demands to help Black Americans that he feels needs to be addressed in order to get his vote ... and says both sides of the aisle want to, at least, hear what he's got to say.

We spoke to Cube Wednesday on "TMZ Live" and he elaborated on his "Contract with Black America" that he's been promoting these past few months ahead of the election. Bottom line ... he says he'll vote for whoever implements his ideas, even if it's President Trump.

Check it out ... for Cube, identity politics is gone, and he's only looking out for his people at this point -- telling us that if a candidate doesn't clearly explain what's in it for the Black community if they're elected, he doesn't see a point in voting for them.

Specifically, he says economics is a huge part of his agenda -- explaining that there needs to be a monumental shift in the wealth gap between Black people and everyone else.

Now, Cube says he's heard from Joe Biden's camp AND Trump's about his 'Contract' ... and insists there's nothing partisan about his demands.

There's also this ... he says Biden should not think for a second he has the Black vote locked up. Fact is, Trump is still in office and could roll some of these things out before November, which would go a long way for Cube, and possibly other voters.

It's a fascinating take, and Cube is determined to hold Trump and Biden's feet to the fire.

Kyle Rittenhouse shooting and killing 2 protesters with a semi-automatic rifle is just one of those stupid things all teens do ... at least that's Donald Trump Jr.'s absolutely shocking theory.

President Trump's oldest son shared that offensive take during an "Extra" interview with ex-'Bachelorette' star Rachel Lindsay ... who asked why his father still hasn't condemned Rittenhouse's actions.

Don Jr. says they're waiting for due process and don't want to jump to any conclusions -- which is ironic considering his dad does that all the time. Yet, he clearly defended the 17-year-old charged with 2 homicides.

Trump Jr. says if he puts himself in Rittenhouse's position ... "Maybe I shouldn't have been there. He's a young kid. I don't want 17-year-olds running around the street with AR-15s. Maybe I wouldn't have put myself in that situation, who knows. But, we all do stupid things at 17."

When Lindsay called him out for minimizing the incident, Don replied ... "Really stupid, fine."

The truth is ... Jr. and his daddy have no qualms whatsoever about condemning demonstrators against systemic racism and police brutality without getting all the facts straight. So, Don Jr.'s excuse for failing to condemn an alleged killer speaks volumes.

President Trump not only broke political precedent by holding the Republican National Convention at The White House ... he also ran up a fat landscaping bill by damaging the grounds.

The South Lawn and iconic Rose Garden were getting a makeover Tuesday, almost 2 weeks after the RNC wrapped up there, reportedly leaving the grounds a muddy mess. And, the new landscaping's gonna cost a cool $79,675 ... TMZ has learned.

According to the federal docs we obtained ... the National Park Service hired a lawn servicing company to do the resodding, and they have until the end of the month to get the job done. According to the Washington Post ... the Trump Campaign is picking up the bill.

Makes sense ... Trump became the first president to accept his party's nomination at the WH, and gave his acceptance speech last Thursday night right on the South Lawn in front of about 1,500 supporters.

At the time, the mostly mask-free crowd raised concerns about COVID-19.

Turns out the more tangible damage being done was under the feet off the President's GOP faithful.

You'll recall, the RNC was originally scheduled to go down in Charlotte, before the pandemic forced the GOP to attempt it in Jacksonville. When that fell through, Trump decided to do it in D.C. ... with the White House as his backdrop.

Kanye West is trying to meet with his political rivals ... Ye says he was denied a meeting with Bernie Sanders, and wants the opportunity to chat with Joe Biden.

Yeezy recently sat down with Nick Cannon for a segment on Nick's podcast, "Cannon's Class," and they started talking politics, and how Ye caught a ton of flak for meeting with Jared Kushner.

Kanye says the sit down with President Trump's son-in-law and trusted aid "ain't no secret meeting" ... and says he wanted a similar meeting with Bernie, but the former presidential candidate wouldn't grant one.

Now that Biden is the democratic nominee for prez, Kanye says he wants a power meeting with Joe and is willing to meet with any politician, regardless of their party.

Looks like the ball is in Biden's court here.

Here's a shocker for 54 percent of the country ... President Trump opened a Bible (that's not the shocker), signed his name in it, and now the good book could now be worth nearly $40k. There it is.

Yes, as Trump would almost certainly put it, you can now buy your "favorite President's" favorite book ... which our sources tell us he autographed during a very turbulent week in the nation, and particularly in Washington, D.C.

We're told he signed it at the White House during the first week of June, just a couple of days after he'd ordered federal law enforcement to fire pepper spray and rubber bullets at peaceful George Floyd protesters ... just to clear a path for him to St. John's Episcopal Church.

You'll recall he posed there for a now-infamous photo op with a Bible ... although that's not the one he signed.

The autographed Bible is going up for sale through the memorabilia company, Moments In Time -- and they're hawking this slice of Trump history for a cool $37,500.

Just the way God intended.

We kid, but Trump's critics might be expecting a lightning strike, because although he's often declared the Bible is his favorite book -- he's declined to name a favorite chapter or verse ... or even weigh in on the Old vs. New Testament debate.

Presidents have a long history of signing Bibles, but the practice has historically been done when presenting it as a gift with a spiritual message written inside.

Cardi B and Candace Owens are in an epic feud, with Candace calling Cardi an "illiterate rapper" who isn't worthy of interviewing Joe Biden ... thing is, Owens just doesn't get it.

Owens blasted Cardi for her recent sit down with Biden ... specifically, Cardi's question about what Biden would do about Black men dying in America. Owens thinks Biden should have fired back that, according to her, most Black men don't die at the hands of cops but rather other Black men.

Apparently, Owens doesn't think there's an issue with systemic racism in police departments, nor does she address the long list of Black men and women who have died at the hands and knees of cops ... sometimes over minor offenses and sometimes over no offenses at all.

Owens just can't wrap her head around Cardi interviewing a Presidential candidate ... she just can't understand why Biden didn't, as she put it, sit down with "intellectual" black people.

Here's what she's missing. Cardi has a huge following and can do more to get out the vote that the people Owens mentions, including herself. On top of that, she may not care for Cardi's interview, but lots of others did. Maybe she thinks Cardi was just too effective.

At one point during the back and forth, Cardi posted a vid from the Hamptons of her sister, Hennessy, getting harassed because she and her friend are an Afro-Hispanic gay couple.

Owens says Cardi is "uneducated when it came to politics." For her part, Cardi says Trump supporters have gone after her, encouraging people to set her house on fire.

2020 politics ... it ain't pretty.

Joe Exotic's team is heading back to our nation's capital for another shot at getting the Tiger King pardoned by President Trump ... and this time, they got an in at the White House.

Sources tell TMZ ... Joe's squad of attorneys and advocates will be flying to Washington D.C. Wednesday to hand-deliver a copy of their official pardon request to a contact they have at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

The hope it seems ... to get the pardon request in front of Trump, and we're told Eric Love -- who's leading the team -- has a contact within the White House, so it would seem this might be their best chance yet to get DT to listen.

Not just that, but it would appear the Joe Exotic squad has more Trump allies than just one -- here's a photo of Eric with Brad Parscale, 45's head of digital operations for his campaign. Eric and the team met Brad in Texas recently, but also ... he's not the contact they have at the White House. Still, knowing BP can't hurt their odds!

Remember, Love and co. rolled up to D.C. a few months ago in a huge bus with a 'Pardon Joe Exotic' wrap. It doesn't appear that venture was all that successful -- Trump hasn't pardoned the guy after all -- but we know Joe's on Trump's radar.

Chasten Buttigieg's coming out experience didn't get off to a good start, but thanks to his parents it turned out well, and speaking of things working out ... he's focused on the bright side of his husband's unsuccessful presidential bid.

Mayor Pete's husband joined "TMZ Live" to tell his story about confiding in his family that he was gay, the difficulty and pain that followed ... and the life-changing call from his Mom that helped them heal.

Chasten tells us he's thankful for his parents' allyship, and describes what has to be done to make sure people like him are protected and supported ... something he says he's striving to do for others.

As for his famous hubby and the disappointment of not becoming the Democratic nominee for Prez ... Chasten says it was a bummer, but it's not all bad.

He points out that they've been able to regain a little anonymity in their lives while still focusing on their dreams and goals, and reminds us that they are both still very young ... and the future is bright.

Of course, Chasten believes the outlook will be much better if a certain person is elected president in November ... you can probably guess who, but watch the clip anyway.

President Trump once hired a Black actor to impersonate Barack Obama, just so he could get him in his office and fire him "Apprentice" style ... and the whole thing is on video.

The scene was reportedly filmed around 2013, and was supposed to air during the 2016 RNC -- but it never saw the light of day ... until just recently, that is. It's cringey -- you see Trump bring his "Faux-Bama" into his office in Trump Tower, and belittle him to no end.

Check it out ... in the clip, you see the actor who is no doubt supposed to be Barack sitting there and just taking Trump's disparaging comments -- which range from bashing his job rates numbers, criticizing how he's handled the economy ... and mentioning how often he golfs.

In the end, DT, sure enough, dishes out his signature slogan ... and BO is sent on his way.

It's awful, frankly, but apparently ... this is something the RNC seriously considered running. At any rate, it's just an example of how much disdain Trump has for Obama ... so claims his ex-attorney, Michael Cohen, who recounted this anecdote in his new book.

The book -- 'Disloyal: A Memoir' -- also included a photo of Trump filming the scene with the Black actor he hired ... simply to humiliate on camera. In other words, yeah ... this happened.

Cohen's book is set to be published for the masses Tuesday, and it reportedly contains several other damning stories about the President, including alleged racist remarks and other sordid comments.