2024 Presidential Election

Gary Estes, the Texas man who spent $4,000 to destroy a Taylor Swift guitar, is shaking off criticism following the highly debated viral moment.

The 67-year-old has spoken out in the aftermath of the controversial video, which saw him bidding thousands of dollars to obtain a guitar allegedly signed by the pop star ... only to smash it with a hammer directly after buying it.

Estes says he didn't have any "malicious" intentions behind the destructive gesture ... clarifying it "was just a joke" -- and one he didn't even come up with.

Tim Walz was all about spreading the love at the Vice Presidential debate -- rocking a friendship bracelet that gave a massive nod to Taylor Swift's Kamala Harris endorsement.

Walz flashed the accessory during Tuesday's debate with J.D. Vance ... showing a few glimpses of it under his white sleeve as he gestured with his hands on stage.

It's not confirmed if Walz's bracelet is from the $20 Harris-Walz campaign merch that dropped after T-Swift's endorsement last month, featuring both candidates' names. But either way, it had Swifties buzzing with excitement!

"The Apprentice" -- one of the most contentious and sought-after films of the year, depicting the life of a young Donald Trump -- is too spicy for some major TV networks ... at least during presidential and VP debates

Briarcliff Entertainment, the film's distributor, tells TMZ ... a 15-second advertisement for the film was rejected by both ABC and CBS from airing during debate nights.

CBS, which is hosting tonight's debate between Tim Walz and J.D. Vance, told Briarcliff the network doesn't feel comfortable promoting "The Apprentice" in the debate or during national news -- but is open to advertising the film during other parts of the day.

Jimmy Carter's milestone birthday is one worth extra celebration ... the former president's 100th birthday makes history as he becomes the longest living prez.

The longtime politician turned 100 on Tuesday ... after spending the last 19 months in hospice care. He is the only U.S. President to live to 100.

Carter served as the 39th president of the United States after previously serving as the 76th governor of Georgia. The former president has always been dedicated to service ... whether it was his time in the Navy or his volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity.

Kid Rock, Ric Flair, and Donald Trump Jr. walk into a bar ... but this isn't a joke.

The rocker, wrestler, and son of the Republican presidential candidate were together over the weekend as a concert and campaign fundraiser collided in Nashville on Sunday!

The Red White & Rock event was hosted by Log Cabin Republicans, the "largest organization representing LGBT conservatives and straight allies who support fairness, freedom, and equality for all Americans," and there was some star power on hand.

Joe Rogan thinks a Kamala Harris presidency would spell doom for free speech in America ... he says Harris and Tim Walz would have the feds increasing censorship online.

Joe warned a possible Harris administration would "clamp down more" on online speech, making the bold prediction Thursday on his popular podcast "The Joe Rogan Experience" during a conversation about censorship on social media.

The way Joe sees it ... Harris and Walz have said "many wild things" about censorship, free speech and the First Amendment ... especially when it comes to platforms like Facebook and X.

Chappell Roan is prioritizing her mental health in the aftermath of her election controversy ... pulling out of a major music festival days before she was set to perform.

The singer announced on her Instagram Stories Friday she's no longer performing at All Things Go -- an outdoor music festival simultaneously taking place outside D.C. and NYC this weekend. She was scheduled for Saturday in New York and Sunday in the D.C. area.

As the pop star explained to her followers, she is "unable to perform" due to an "overwhelming" feeling she's faced over the past few weeks.

Kids may say the darndest things, but sometimes they display an impressive understanding of today's political arena ... as proven in a new video making the rounds online.

CNN sat down with a group of 10 and 11-year-old kids from across the country, where they weighed in on the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election. There were certainly some divisive opinions shared, especially when the children were asked to share their first thoughts about Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

Where one young girl from New Jersey described Trump as "pure evil," a boy from Texas felt Harris was a "liar" ... though, he still thought DT was more likely to do "bad things" given his status as a convicted felon.

Former astronaut Mike Massimino believes all Americans should exercise their right to vote this November ... especially if his peers stuck in space can pull it off.

We caught up with the former NASA employee in NYC, where he weighed in on Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita Williams' plans to vote on Election Day via absentee ballots. As Mike put it, Butch and Suni's situation shouldn't exempt them from their civic duty ... praising the astronauts for setting a "good example."

He noted ... "Everyone should be voting. I'm glad they'll be voting ... Look, if my friends can do it from space then all the rest of us here can certainly do it on Planet Earth."

Roseanne Barr's making sure everyone can hear her raw thoughts on politics ... screaming about how Democrats supposedly stole the 2020 election and covered it up with the January 6 inquiry in her loudest voice.

The controversial actress and comedian took the stage in Texas Tuesday night for "The Tucker Carlson Live Tour" ... and, she started on about conspiracy theories from the last presidential election -- basically, Donald Trump won and Democrats plotted to overturn the election results.

Roseanne says Dems "overthrew the government of our country, and they haven't even answered for it. And it pisses me off" ... shouting out her views at the top of her lungs.

Donald Trump says the Iranian government is out to assassinate him ... declaring Iran's already tried and failed to kill him, and he believes they will try again.

The former President and current Republican presidential candidate posted about an alleged Iranian assassination plot on his Truth Social platform, saying ... "Big threats on my life by Iran. The entire U.S. Military is watching and waiting."

Trump adds ... "Moves were already made by Iran that didn’t work out, but they will try again. Not a good situation for anyone."

Joe Biden's making history once again during his presidency ... becoming the first sitting president to appear on the hit talk show "The View" -- and, he opened up about backing out of the race, dishing on his relationship with Nancy Pelosi.

The 46th POTUS pulled up to the studio Wednesday to chat with hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, Ana Navarro and Alyssa Farah Griffin about both foreign and domestic politics -- and the perception that his political exit was unceremonious.

Farah Griffin asks JB if he's still cool with longtime ally Nancy Pelosi ... who many say appeared to lead the charge in encouraging Biden to step aside for Kamala Harris.

7:38 AM PT -- Chappell Roan is still not happy with how her political views are being portrayed in the public, taking to TikTok again Wednesday to make it clear she's not endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris.

While the singer confirmed she will be voting for the Harris-Walz ticket this November, she emphasizes she has issues with Democratic Party policies ... some of which she calls "transphobic" and "genocidal."

She cites the Biden administration's handling of Palestine as a key reason she isn't making an endorsement for Harris.

Watch the vid ... Chappell says there's a difference between endorsing and voting, emphasizing she believes there are "huge problems" plaguing both parties.

Per Chappell, she's "done talking about it" ... though, she adds she refuses to settle for the political options laid before her.

Chappell Roan is setting the record straight after saying she wasn’t endorsing Kamala Harris -- making it clear she’s not backing Donald Trump either.

The singer hopped on TikTok Tuesday saying her Kamala comments were taken out of context ... adding she believes actions speak louder than an endorsement -- and by the looks of it, she's all about taking that action by not backing either major party.

CR explained, "If you come to my shows, if you read my full interviews, if you literally know anything about me and what I stand for, you know that this is not lip service. This is not virtue signaling. My actions have always paved the way for my project."

Donald Trump seems to have missed the memo on Johnny Carson's death ... calling for the late-night legend to return to 'The Tonight Show' 19 years after dying.

The former prez addressed his supporters at a rally in Pennsylvania Monday, where he took a moment to take shots at late-night TV. Specifically, Trump appeared to take an issue with Jimmy Fallon and his version of 'The Tonight Show,' which he described as "dying."

During this tangent in his address, the Republican nominee called on Carson to return to the long-running talk show and asked the crowd ... "Where's Johnny Carson???"

Donald Trump is helping one Pennsylvania mother fight inflation, but his showy method -- handing her cash for groceries -- means he's potentially flirting with committing a crime.

Here's how it went down ... while working the campaign hustle, the Republican presidential nominee swung by Sprankle's Neighborhood Market Monday in Kittanning, PA, and casually dropped a $100 bill to pay for the mom of 3's grocery haul.

As he slips her the cash, you can hear DT quip, "Here, it’s gonna go down a little. It just went down 100 bucks" ... referring to her grocery tab.

John Leguizamo thinks Kamala Harris needs more than just Taylor Swift's endorsement to beat Donald Trump in November ... he says she needs a celeb from the Latin community too.

The actor joined us on "TMZ Live" and told us what Kamala needs to do to drum up support among Latin voters ... and he thinks a Bad Bunny or America Ferrera endorsement might do the trick.

Taylor announced she was voting for Kamala a few minutes after the first presidential debate, in what was seen as a huge win for the Democratic nominee, but John -- who's produced a new PBS documentary about Latin American history -- says she's going to need the Latin vote to get elected.