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President Biden dished a vote of confidence to our men and women in black and blue -- acknowledging the tall order of enforcing the law, while rejecting defunding the police.

JB and the First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden, attended 40th Annual National Peace Officers' Memorial Service Saturday at the U.S. Capitol ... where they paid tribute to the fallen police officers who'd been killed in the line of duty over the past couple years -- upwards of 491.

The First couple laid flowers at memorial wreath for fallen officers from right there in D.C. -- including those who served in the Capitol Police, the Metropolitan Police Department and other local law enforcement agencies.

Of those officers from the D.C. area, he thanked them for their service -- especially those who laid their bodies on the line to defend the Capitol on Jan. 6 ... for which Biden says the nation is grateful.

He eventually pivoted to policing in the modern era ... confessing that, yes, it's a difficult job to do in 2021 -- and one that seems to be less and less sought after ... which the Prez says is a shame, as he said our cities, neighborhood and citizens need police to stay safe.

And then ... he talked about defunding the police, without using those exact words, per se. Joe says policing does need to change -- but he simply doesn't think stripping resources is the way to do it. If anything, he said the opposite ... that cops need more resources, and education on how to best implement them, referencing community policing and other tools.

It's an interesting stance ... and appears to differ with what some in his party have called for in the wake of George Floyd and other high profile police cases over the past year or so.

Cardi B has a surprising ally in her corner ... it's the GOP, which is encouraging her NOT to be intimidated by cancel culture and continue talking politics.

Paris Dennard, a National GOP spokesman, tells TMZ ... the "I Like It" rapper should continue talking politics because if she stops, young people will see this and also become scared to express themselves for fear of backlash from democrats and republicans alike.

It's surprising ... Dennard says Cardi shouldn't be fazed by sharing opinions about politics/social issues that line up with democrats ... or the people she's standing up for.

ICYMI ... Cardi tweeted Thursday she'd refrain from sharing her political views because she was "tired of getting bullied by the republicans and also getting bashed by the same people I was standing up for."

Dennard makes it crystal clear ... with Cardi having a massive platform, any political statement could trigger backlash from both sides. He insists ... any of that shouldn't silence her because having an influencer like herself sets an example for others, particularly with young people.

He says it's important for Cardi -- who interviewed President Joe Biden and trash-talked former prez Donald Trump with Sen. Bernie Sanders -- to be a free thinker. What's more ... Dennard says having polarizing views doesn't necessarily mean getting canceled.

He points out some prime examples like Kanye West and Lil Wayne ... just some of the rappers who supported Trump. Dennard also points to Nicki Minaj ... whose COVID-19 vaccine claims riled up social media, but she came away mostly unscathed.

Rosario Dawson says "Saturday Night Live" needs to give BF Cory Booker his due the next time 'SNL' impersonates the Senator ... and she's got a few ideas for the stars to workshop.

We got the actress leaving ABC Studios in New York and asked what she thought of the show's impersonation of her boyfriend.

Rosario doesn't seem too impressed ... she says she's yet to see anyone nail Cory's true personality, and she explains why he's like the Fred Rogers or Ted Lasso of the Senate.

The 'SNL' skit mocking the recent Facebook hearing in Congress featured tons of politicians, but the Cory jokes were mostly centered on him dating Rosario.

Next time, Rosario says, the show should instead give her man props for everything he's doing for his State, from cannabis to police reform.

Former President Bill Clinton has been hospitalized with what his doctor says is an infection that spread into his bloodstream.

Clinton's docs say 42 was admitted to UC Irvine Medical Center Tuesday and is being closely monitored. The infection reportedly first started as a UTI, but became much more serious once it got into his bloodstream ... he's currently in the intensive care unit.

Dr. Alpesh Amin, from UC Irvine and Clinton's personal doctor, Dr. Lisa Bardack, say the former Prez is currently receiving antibiotics and fluids through an IV.

Reports say the 75-year-old is in good spirits while being cared for, and he's expected to be just fine.

His doctors told CNN, "After two days of treatment, his white blood cell count is trending down and he is responding to antibiotics well. We hope to have him go home soon."

Clinton was in California for a fundraiser before falling ill and being hospitalized.

Of course, Clinton has had his share of serious medical issues, he had a quadruple bypass heart surgery in 2004 and in 2010 he had two stents inserted to open an artery.

His doctors insist his most recent hospitalization has nothing to do with COVID or with his heart.

President Biden is starting his week off with a wedding ... because his nephew is about to tie the knot with a real housewife.

The White House says the President and First Lady Jill Biden will be in attendance when Biden's nephew, Cuffe Owens, marries 'Real Housewives of Orange County' star Meghan O'Toole King today.

Monday's ceremony is said to be pretty small and reserved for family ... and it's going down at the home of Biden's sister, Valerie Owens.

Cuffe is a 42-year-old attorney based in Los Angeles, and he only recently went public with his relationship with Meghan.

It's the third marriage for Meghan ... remember, her last marriage to former MLB star Jim Edmonds ended in a messy divorce complete with a nude text messaging scandal and alleged infidelity with their nanny.

POTUS is attending the wedding after spending the weekend back home in Delaware, then it's back to The White House.

No word if Biden's planning to say a few words at the ceremony.

George Clooney is shooting down any notion of diving into politics -- saying he doesn't want the stress ... while also noting Joe Biden deserves a break after Trump's presidency.

The actor sat down with BBC's Andrew Marr Sunday to plug his new movie, "The Tender Bar," and eventually ... they got to talking about President Biden and ex-Prez Trump -- the former of whom GC says will need time to clean up the mess he says DT left behind.

Marr noted Biden's poll numbers are down -- in the wake of Afghanistan and other issues -- but George brushed those off as fleeting and ever-changing. He likened the U.S. today as a battered child, and that thinking they'll be okay on the first day of school is foolish.

Bottom line ... George says there's a lot of healing that still needs to happen, and that these repairs will take time. So, Biden not fixing things ASAP is NBD to him -- and he backs him.

Speaking of Trump ... Clooney also dishes on what Donald was like back in the day -- saying he was nothing but a knucklehead chasing girls. He also says Trump despises his staunchest supporters ... rural folks from middle America, who come out in droves to his rallies.

Matthew McConaughey says he's still not sure if he'll run for Governor of Texas -- heavily suggesting it's NOT in the cards for him, considering how little leg work he's done thus far.

The actor did a wide-ranging interview with the NYT's Kara Swisher for a recent episode of her 'Sway' podcast ... and it's pretty astounding how little Matt knows about current issues, and how unwilling he seems to be in committing to one side of the aisle or another ... or even expressing a clear cut, definitive view of what he considers right or wrong.

The one thing he did clarify -- after constant (and much-needed) follow-up questions from Swisher on where he landed/what he's going to do -- is that he's woefully unprepared for a serious gov run in the Lone Star State ... as he's only in the consulting phase right now.

Matt says he hasn't started forming committees, conducting polls or much of anything else yet that comes with getting a legit campaign started and rolling. Apparently, he's still just talking to certain people about the idea of running ... and the election is just a year away.

MMC also says this about the proposition ... "Who am I going to be? No, who -- who am I going to be? Where can I be most useful? Is politics an embassy for me to be of the most use to myself, to my family, to the most amount of people in my life moving forward?' He adds, "I could arguably have more influence as an informal leader than a formal leader."

He also called the current American political system (2 parties, seemingly extreme views on both sides) "broken" ... implying he was more of a centrist than anything, also saying in philosopher fashion that he continues to "measure" what avenue would be best for him.

What that measurement entails, exactly, is anyone's guess ... but Matt says he's "studying" the issue. Speaking of issues, he actually did end up weighing in on some concrete ones, after incessant badgering (and explaining of said issues) from Swisher. On mask mandates in TX ... for. On voter rights protections ... for. On the abortion bill ... against.

You can listen to the full podcast to hear how he explains his rationale for each -- some explanations of which are a bit of a doozy, and sorta hard to unpack. But, based on how he answers, McConaughey appears to lean center-left ... more than anything.

At one point, Swisher asks what he made of Beto O'Rourke saying Matt was an enigma, and hadn't made a lot of his positions clear -- something he thinks is essential to being a real contender in modern-day U.S. politics. Swisher said she perceived that as "shade."

Bill Maher ended his show Friday night with a message ... "I hope I scared the s*** out of you," and he delivered ... by laying out a believable scenario of how the 2024 Presidential election will go down.

Maher believes we are in the grips of what he calls a "slow-moving coup" at the hands of Donald Trump, and his evidence is really hard to rebut. As he says, Trump learned from 2020 that you can't overturn an election with the current players in place, so he's been spending most of his time trying to change all that.

The evidence is out there ... we've seen Trump trying to purge the GOP of RINOs and endorsing secretaries of state all over the country -- these are the folks who manage elections. Trump's also been active in trying to change state legislatures so his people are in place who can grab more power over election tabulations. And, of course, he'll be the beneficiary of the 2022 midterms, when Republicans are expected to regain control of the House.

As you know ... the House certifies the election and although Trump couldn't get the results overturned in 2020, the landscape will shift in such a way that it could happen the next time around.

And, here's the craziest part ... Maher says it doesn't matter who Trump is running against. Even if it looks like the Democrat won, the day after the election Trump will declare victory and the pieces will be in place to affirm it -- whether he really wins or loses.

And, wait till you hear him lay out what might happen on January 20, 2025. It's a set up for civil war.

Donald Trump ramped up his anti-immigration rhetoric on TV Thursday night ... telling Sean Hannity the thousands of Haitian migrants believed to be heading to America's border likely have AIDS.

The ex-President did his best DaBaby impression by spewing out ignorant claims about the disease, suggesting on "Hannity" that because Haiti has a "tremendous AIDS problem" ... accepting people from there is "like a death wish for our country."

What Trump's comments ignore, however, is that while there may be a large number of people living with HIV/AIDs in Haiti ... it's impossible to know if those trying to flee the country are afflicted.

Likewise, even if migrants with AIDS are admitted to the U.S. ... it does not equate to a "death wish."

Later in his chat with Hannity, Trump also alleged other countries are "emptying out their prisons into the United States."

The Supreme Court Justices just returned to work -- beginning work on cases related to Roe v. Wade -- and the court is on lockdown, surrounded by cops investigating a security threat.

U.S Capitol Police say a suspicious vehicle is parked near the Supreme Court Building, and they have officers all over neighboring blocks ... shutting off all traffic in the area. Tensions are running high -- Monday was the Court's first day back in session, and with Roe v. Wade on the Justices' front burner for the current term, there are immense security concerns.

There are reports the vehicle is an SUV parked at the front of the building, and that the driver refused to move when cops told him to do so.

The Justices are scheduled to hear arguments regarding Mississippi's abortion law later during this term ... and it could ultimately lead to Roe v. Wade being overturned.

It's unclear if the Justices were already in the building when police locked down the building.

Story developing ...

Grimes boning up on some Karl Marx has America's Communist Party applauding the singer ... because they say she's advancing their cause.

A spokesperson for Communist Party USA tells TMZ that even though the singer has said she doesn't identify as a communist, the fact she was spotted reading "The Communist Manifesto" is a massive win for them.

As we reported ... Grimes was seen with the book over the weekend, following her recent split from billionaire baby daddy Elon Musk.

The CP Rep tells us even if the Grimes pics were just a publicity stunt, it's a textbook case of all publicity being good publicity.

The way the party sees things ... the first step to getting people to join the Communist Party is by making them reconsider our current political system. Through Grimes, folks will be inspired to read Marx and ultimately begin to question capitalism and the billionaires calling the shots ... like Elon Musk.

Fact is, celebrities have played a major role in changing American politics in the past decade. Bernie Sanders, a self-described Democratic-Socialist, entered the 2016 presidential race, and despite running as a Democrat, he was hardly supported by any Dems in Congress. Endorsements from stars like Sarah Silverman, Killer Mike and many more propelled Bernie into the mainstream ... and as Bernie grew, so did Democratic-Socialism.

Elizabeth Warren says the Facebook employee who blew the lid on how they allegedly put profits over accuracy says she shouldn't be called a whistleblower ... but a patriot.

The U.S. Senator was on Capitol Hill Monday, where we got a chance to ask what she made of Frances Haugen's appearance on '60 Minutes' ... on which she made some bombshell claims against her former employer, for whom she worked up until earlier this year.

ICYMI ... Haugen alleged FB honchos have opted, of late, to highlight divisive -- and oftentimes erroneous -- posts and/or content on the platform ... killing their news filtering process in place for the election, and helping fuel the Jan. 6 insurrection with inaction.

Like we said, heavy-hitting stuff ... to which Sen. Warren says, good for her -- and also, THANK YOU.

Check out how she characterizes Haugen coming forward ... she uses the word "democracy" and says the woman is actually working to preserve our system of government by getting the word out on how this mega social media company is allegedly operating behind the scenes.

A lot of people are singing Haugen's praises right about now -- especially as she's set to testify on this exact issue in front of Congress in the not too distant future.

Of course, we also had to ask the Senator about this weird mass outage that unfolded Monday -- literally on the heels of Haugen speaking out ... which had FB, Instagram, What's App and a ton of other services down. People were slowly able to access their accounts after 6 hours.

"Let’s bring her up here and look at her ass."

That's what former President Donald Trump told staffers as he summoned a "young, highly attractive" aide to his private office on Air Force One ... this according to a new book.

Stephanie Grisham -- the former White House press secretary under Trump famous for holding zero press briefings -- makes the claims in her book due out Tuesday, saying she tried to keep Trump away from the press wrangler he allegedly took a liking to.

TMZ's obtained an excerpt from the book -- titled "I'll Take Your Questions Now: What I Saw in the Trump White House" -- in which Grisham says Trump was ogling the young woman from the day he first laid eyes on her.

In fact, Grisham writes ... "I began to notice that he was taking an unusual interest in a young, highly attractive press wrangler on my team ... What I do know is that he behaved inappropriately. And, since the woman worked for me, I tried to protect her and keep his unusual interest in her under wraps."

Grisham says Trump often asked her about the woman, and when he wanted the aide to see him on Air Force One, Grisham made sure they weren't left alone because, "the whole thing never felt quite right."

Things allegedly got weird on one trip Grisham missed ... she claims Trump asked how the woman was doing before instructing his staff to bring her to his office cabin so he could get a look at her butt ... so Grisham tried keeping the aide off future trips.

Grisham says she doesn't know if anything happened between Trump and the woman, but she writes that she came close to telling Melania about her husband's alleged behavior before ultimately being "too chickens***."

Come and listen to a story 'bout a man named Don

A poor President who didn't know right from wrong

And when his kids asked to meet the Royal Queen

His staff stepped in so they never would be seen

Stephanie Grisham -- the former White House press secretary under Donald Trump best known for holding zero press briefings -- is saying plenty about him now, and like many other of his former employees ... it ain't positive.

Grisham's got a new book coming out this week, and in it, she details her experiences working in Trump's White House and dealing with his family ... including when they went to visit The Queen in June 2019.

TMZ's obtained an excerpt from the book -- titled "I'll Take Your Questions Now: What I Saw in the Trump White House" -- in which she says the trip to the U.K. for dinner with Queen Elizabeth royally excited the Trump children.

In fact, Grisham writes ... "It was the only trip in all four years that every single member of the family expected to attend."

Problem was, according to Grisham, the Trump fam also wanted royal service along the way ... including getting to ride on Air Force One, and spots at the Queen's official state dinner table for Don Jr.'s girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, and Tiffany's boyfriend too.

Grisham says this didn't fly with Melania's chief of staff, Lindsay Reynolds, whom she claims was concerned the Trump kids would ruin the trip simply so they could get attention.

Grisham claims Reynolds told her, "We are going to look like the Beverly Hillbillies," adding ... "We'll be an embarrassment to the whole country."

The allegations get even juicier from there -- with plenty of smoke for Ivanka and Jared too -- so check out the full excerpt for more.

It should be noted, Grisham describes Trump's White House in her book as "a clown car on fire running at full speed into a warehouse full of fireworks" ... so you know what else to expect.

Ex-President Trump, through his spokesperson, is already refuting Grisham's claims, telling TMZ ... "Stephanie didn't have what it takes and that was obvious from the beginning. She became very angry and bitter after her break up and as time went on she was seldom relied upon, or even thought about."

Joe Rogan believes Joe Biden did NOT get a COVID vaccine booster shot on live TV this week ... saying, "I don't think they would take the chance."

The comedian and UFC commentator delivered the wild claim on his "Joe Rogan Experience" podcast Thursday ... explaining he believes the President faked it all when he claimed to have received his third dose of the Pfizer vaccine on Monday.

“I think if they were going to give him a booster shot," Rogan said, "the last thing they would do is give it to him live on television.”

“What if he dies?" Rogan added. "What if he blacks out? What if he like gets it and faints? Like, because people have had very bad reactions like in the moment for whatever reason."

For his part, Biden says the shot was, in fact, very real ... writing on Twitter after getting the jab, "just like my first and second dose, it was safe and easy."

"Get vaccinated," Biden added. "Together, can we save lives and beat this virus."

It's not the first (or second) time Rogan's been involved in a COVID controversy. He previously suggested young people shouldn't get the vax. He also kicked up a stir when he revealed he was taking controversial medication, Ivermectin, when he had the virus.

Biden, doctors and health officials across the country have insisted COVID vaccines are safe ... and risks of extreme side effects are very rare.

R. Kelly's persona non grata in Baton Rouge ... his "key to the city" there has been rescinded by the very same official who bestowed him with the honor.

Kelly was given the honor back in February 2013 by Denise Marcelle, who, at the time, was a member of Baton Rouge Metro Council. Marcelle tells us after Kelly's guilty verdict, she regrets giving Kelly a key to the city in the first place and is going to rescind it.

If you're wondering how that works, the process doesn't include actually physically taking the $256 plaque and key back from the singer ... but he's stripped of the honor.

Obviously, there were allegations against Kelly when Marcelle presented the key to him back in 2013, but she tells us she only knew he had been acquitted in 2008, and didn't do her homework to truly understand what was leveled against him.

Marcelle now serves as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, and not in the BR Council, but a rep for BR tells us Marcelle still holds the power to rescind the key since she was the one who gave it out.

As we reported ... Kelly was found guilty earlier this week on all counts in his federal sex crimes trial.