Veteran journalist Geraldo Rivera isn't taking President Trump at his word -- not literally, at least -- insisting he's greatly exaggerating the total destruction of Iran ... something he believes the Pentagon wouldn't allow.
The longtime news anchor joined us Tuesday on "TMZ Live" to discuss Trump's proclamation that a "whole civilization will die tonight" ... in reference to his promised bombing of power plants and other civilian structures if Iran doesn't agree to a ceasefire by 8 PM ET.
Geraldo says he thinks the president's just being bombastic ... something he's seen up-close and personal with Trump during his time on 'Celebrity Apprentice.'
President Donald Trump’s call with the Artemis II crew Monday night had a seriously awkward moment … when the crew seemingly decided they were done talking to him -- and the prez blamed it on a glitch!
Just check out the stream between Trump and the 4 astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft -- NASA's Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Trump is gushing about their bravery and even tells them his good pal Wayne Gretzky is in awe of them. The crew gives the speech some smiles and a thumbs up ... and then go silent.
The stream sits quiet for about a minute ... but they do eventually reconnect with Trump, who notes he thinks they may have "gotten cut off." After Trump informs the crew of his words they may have missed ... Reid says they totally heard him, and are also proud of their fellow Canadians.
President Trump is not only planning to bomb Iran back to the "stone ages" ... but he's now threatening to kill off the "whole civilization."
Trump was in a very dark mood Tuesday morning when he jumped on Truth Social to warn Iran that its entire civilization will die tonight unless its leadership opens up the Strait of Hormuz.
As you know, Iran closed the waterway to the U.S. and Israel after those countries went to war with Iran. The closure has caused a major upheaval in energy flows, and oil prices have spiked.
Well, Donald Trump is just slinging slurs in press conferences now ... speaking to reporters Monday, the President of the United States reflected on his relationship with Kim Jong Un, who he says he gets along with "very well."
While Trump claimed North Korea's supreme leader says "very nice things" about him, KJU has some harsher words for Joe Biden, saying ... "He used to call Joe Biden a 'mentally r*****ed person,' okay? So don't tell me about your stuff."
DJT then said it a second time, adding ... "He was so nasty to Joe Biden. It was terrible. But to me, he likes Trump."
Donald says the reason things are "very nice" between the U.S. and North Korea is because Kim Jong Un likes him.
Buy her some peanuts and Cracker Jack ... Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hit up a New York Yankees game Sunday as the second week of Congress' paid vacation gets underway ... while thousands of federal workers are still going unpaid.
Check out these photos of AOC at the Yankees home game Sunday afternoon against the visiting Miami Marlins ... the Congresswoman from New York is smiling in a bunch of selfies snapped by folks who ran into her at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.
President Donald Trump is firing off a major warning ... going after a journalist who reported on the high-stakes rescue mission after a U.S. fighter jet went down in Iran last week.
During a press conference Monday, Trump didn’t name names -- but the message was loud and clear, aimed straight at Axios journalist Barak Ravid-- demanding he cough up his source ... or risk jail time.
Here’s the backdrop -- U.S. forces managed to track down and rescue two service members after their F-15E Strike Eagle went down -- but Trump says the story put everything on the line ... not just the two being rescued, but the hundreds involved in pulling it off.
President Donald Trump was all about trading the world of politics for playground clout -- turning the White House lawn into his own autograph booth for a pack of hyped-up kids at an Easter egg hunt.
Honestly, it's an exceptionally ridiculous scene -- Trump ditching the heavy politics for kid duty, posted up Monday signing doodles while one super-keen kid practically shoved paper in his face ... and Trump, never missing a beat, pitching the others on flipping his autograph for $25K on eBay.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Trump signing without a little detour -- even in full family-friendly mode, he slipped back into form, taking a swipe at former President Joe Biden and telling the kids he actually signs his name ... unlike Biden and his autopen.
U.S. Representative from Texas Tony Gonzales has a history of pursuing sexual relationships with staffers, it seems.
According to the San Antonio Express-News, texts from June 2020 allegedly show the married father-of-six repeatedly asking for nudes from his campaign's then-political director.
The outlet reported Monday that the staffer -- who asked not to be named -- received lewd texts from the congressman ... who reportedly asked "what kind of panties" she wears, told her he wanted her to "squeeze my balls," and badgered her for nudes more than a dozen times over the course of three days.
President Donald Trump went after the U.S. Supreme Court and birthright citizenship in a wild 1 AM rant on Truth Social.
Early Monday morning, Trump went off about SCOTUS' upcoming ruling on birthright citizenship ... where they will decide whether or not to uphold his executive order ending the 14th Amendment right.
In the late-night post, DT called birthright citizenship a "scam" and a "money making HOAX" ... saying it's "too bad" the Supreme Court justices -- three of whom he appointed himself -- aren't basing their ruling around conservative radio program "The Mark Levin Show."
President Donald Trump had a very untraditional Easter Sunday ... skipping church and hitting the greens at Trump National Golf Club instead ... all while online rumors about his health were swirling.
The 79-year-old was spotted arriving back at the White House in D.C. Sunday after spending the day at his golf club in Virginia, putting to rest social media chatter that something serious might be going on after WH officials said he'd have no public appearances Saturday.
The rumor mill went into overdrive during that quiet stretch with some corners of the Internet even pushing false claims about his health and death.
The former Fox News host absolutely ripped Tiger during a recent episode of "The Megyn Kelly Show," calling his actions "a douche move," and saying, "It’s very clear he called to try to get out of this somehow."
President Donald Trumpisn't sending warm and fuzzy vibes this Easter weekend ... he's dropping F-bombs and threatening Iran with "Hell."
Fresh off a dramatic U.S. military rescue of a downed airman inside Iran, Trump fired off a Truth Social post Sunday, issuing a blunt warning over the Strait of Hormuz crisis.
"Open the F***ing Strait, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in Hell -- JUST WATCH!" he wrote.
When it comes to tracking members of Congress, it's like selling real estate ... it's all about LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!
We got this pic of California Senator Alex Padilla Saturday at a Dodger game. That piqued our interest ... another senator bailing on D.C. as thousands of federal workers go without pay.
But the Dodgers were playing the Washington Nationals, and the game went down in D.C. ... exactly where Padilla and his 534 colleagues should be until the government is reopened.
11:20 AM PT -- BTW ... Senator Rick Scott wrote an op-ed just four years ago that Disney had gone too woke -- and, he wouldn't "be going back or watching Disney+ anytime soon."
Unclear what changed -- but it seems the senator came to an understanding with Mickey and decided he wanted to be part of his world again.
Rick Scott pulled a pretty good c**k block, posting a pic of his family having a good ol' time at Disney World in Florida and challenging TMZ for posting pics of members of Congress on vacay while thousands of federal workers go unpaid. Well, challenge accepted.
Scott posted the pic of him, his wife Ann, and their granddaughter at Walt Disney World's Hollywood Studios.
Rep.Seth Magaziner understands concerns about the bad optics of him hosting a 'Real Housewives' premiere party during the government shutdown ... but he's laying blame on the guy who sent the House of Representatives packing for this two-week recess.
The Congressman from Rhode Island joined us Friday on "TMZ Live," and pointed a finger at House Speaker Mike Johnson, saying he never should have sent everyone home without voting on a bill to end the partial shutdown ... which, of course, has thousands of federal employees working without pay.
It's something we've heard a lot recently from Congress members -- the Democrats, at least -- that it's all Johnson's fault, and while there may be some truth there ... we're thinking BOTH parties should wear the stalemate, because THEY aren't doing their jobs.
1:53 PM PT -- The DOJ's Rapid Response X account is attempting to debunk the now-viral pic of Pam Bondi's portrait in the trash ... claiming the shot is "Fake News." It also included a photo of the framed picture hanging on the wall -- calling that "Real News."
It's unclear when the picture of the portrait hanging on the wall was taken, for the record.
Pam Bondi looks like she's considered nothing but trash at the Department of Justice ... because hours after President Trump canned her as attorney general, her framed portrait was in the trash can.
Check out this photo, obtained by MS NOW, showing Pam's official portrait resting upside down in an otherwise empty wired trash can in the DOJ office. Ouch.
Pam's portrait used to be hanging on a wall alongside portraits of Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance ... but now it looks pretty lonely in its new home.
