Politix

Bill Maher has a warning for all Republicans: you shouldn't take swipes at Taylor Swift 'cause she just might win the election for Democrats.

The talk show host made the bold prediction on his Friday show, 'Real Time,' during a panel discussion with Sports commentator Bob Costas, and Atlantic writer Caitlin Flanagan.

Bill kicked things off by turning the conversation to the pop star making international headlines recently with her super popular 'Eras' tour, four Grammys Awards this year, her romance with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and her upcoming appearance at Sunday's Super Bowl.

Bill didn't mince words, saying, "This is a national news story in the sense that this is a person who could literally swing the election. I don’t know what that says about this country, but I would just say to the ‘MAGA’ people, ‘You should be very careful attacking her because this is someone who transcends parties.'”

He didn't stop there ... going on to describe Taylor as a country girl from rural Pennsylvania who has tremendous influence over her huge fan base. He said that could pose real problems for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and "Make America Great Again" supporters at the ballot box.

Bill put it this way, “Her voters perhaps are not registered at all, and she doesn’t have to say who she’s voting for. All she has to say is get registered. They know who she’s voting for.”

Of course, Bill was implying that Taylor is voting for the likely Democratic candidate, President Joe Biden, adding, “So I think you could be awaking a sleeping until the afternoon giant.”

Bill Maher tiene una advertencia para todos los republicanos: no ataquen a Taylor Swift porque ella podría ganar las elecciones para los demócratas.

El presentador hizo la audaz predicción en su programa del viernes "Real Time", durante un panel de discusión con el comentarista deportivo Bob Costas y la escritora de Atlantic Caitlin Flanagan.

Bill empezó la conversación hablando de la estrella del pop, que ha sido noticia internacional recientemente por su popular gira "Eras", sus cuatro Grammys este año, su romance con el ala cerrada de los Kansas City Chiefs Travis Kelce y su próxima aparición en el Super Bowl del domingo.

Bill no se anduvo con rodeos: "Es una noticia nacional en el sentido de que se trata de una persona que literalmente podría cambiar las elecciones. No sé lo que dice esto del país, pero solo le diría a la gente 'MAGA', 'Deberías tener mucho cuidado al atacarla porque se trata de alguien que trasciende los partidos".

Él no se detuvo allí y pasó a describir a Taylor como una chica de campo de la zona rural de Pennsylvania que tiene una tremenda influencia sobre su enorme base de fans. Dijo que podría plantear problemas reales para el presunto candidato presidencial republicano Donald Trump y los partidarios de "Make America Great Again" en las urnas.

Bill lo expresó así: "Sus votantes tal vez no estén registrados en absoluto, y ella no tiene que decir por quién va a votar. Todo lo que tiene que decir es que se registren. Ellos saben por quién vota".

Por supuesto, Bill estaba dando a entender que Taylor está votando por el probable candidato demócrata, el presidente Joe Biden, añadiendo: "Así que creo que podría estar despertando a un gigante dormido".

Wolf Blitzer looked like he was about to puke during a CNN segment on Donald Trump ... seemingly choking back vomit before the network suddenly cut to commercial.

The 'Situation Room' host looked to be in distress Thursday during an interview with Rep. Jamie Raskin, making a series of pained facial expressions as Raskin talked about Trump and the Colorado ballot controversy.

Check out the video ... Wolf seems to be on the verge of vomiting and he struggles to choke something down and keep his mouth closed.

CNN finally catches on and cuts Wolf's feed, leaving Raskin on the screen ... and seconds later vomit-like sounds are heard off camera as CNN pulls the plug and goes to commercial in the middle of a Raskin sentence.

Wolf did not come back on camera after the break, instead being replaced by CNN chief legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid, who announced "Wolf had to step away" and would "be back."

However, Wolf never came back before his show ended and CNN told the Washington Post, "Wolf wasn’t feeling 100% while anchoring Thursday night. He looks forward to being back in the Situation Room and appreciates the well wishes."

For his part, Wolf gave a health update Thursday night, saying ... "I'm fine! Thanks for the well wishes. I’ll see you back in the Situation Room soon."

President Biden is showing serious signs of life and energy ... getting testy with reporters who tried grilling him on his memory loss and a damning special counsel report.

The highlight ... Biden telling Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy, "My memory is so bad I let you speak."

Biden's zinger came as POTUS took the podium in the White House press room Thursday for some rare remarks, fielding questions from journalists in the wake of a special prosecutor calling out his "faulty memory."

Biden had the old noodle working on this occasion, firing off zingers aimed at the media ... and verbally sparring with reporters from multiple outlets.

When Doocy started asking questions about the special counsel report, Biden got testy ... and, if we're being honest, channeled a bit of Donald Trump.

Biden mocked the special counsel, who in his report said JB won't be charged for his handling of classified information while out of office because 46 is a "well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory."

The Prez jokingly agreed, adding ... "I know what the hell I'm doing. I'm President and I put this country back on it's feet."

Asked directly how bad his memory is and if he can continue as President, Biden shot back at Doocy with his "memory so bad I let you speak" one-liner ... which has some serious meme potential.

Another reporter followed up by asking Biden if his memory has gotten worse ... with POTUS saying his memory is "fine" before listing off his legislative accomplishments.

The commander-in-chief also wasn't happy with the special counsel saying Biden couldn't remember when his son Beau died.

Biden's response ... "How in the hell dare he raise that. Frankly, when I was asked the question I thought to myself it wasn't any of their damn business."

Biden groused further ... "I don't need anyone to remind me when he passed away."

The special counsel says there's evidence Biden mishandled classified docs, but the prosecutor decided against charging Biden because he wasn't confident in a guilty verdict due to Biden's faulty memory and ability to make jurors sympathetic.

Brock Purdy has a passing resemblance to the man who assassinated John F. Kennedy -- something he was asked about this week ahead of the Super Bowl ... and it was awkward.

The 49ers QB was made aware of comparisons people have been floating lately between himself and Lee Harvey Oswald -- who, of course, killed JFK in 1963 using a sniper rifle. He's one of the most infamous people in American history ... and BP kinda looks like him.

During a press conference Tuesday, Brock had the question posed to him -- namely, was he aware folks have been calling him an Oswald look-alike? Unsurprisingly, he said he wasn't.

When Brock denied any knowledge about it, he was asked the obvious follow-up ... what do you make of the comparison? His response is funny -- you can tell he's at a loss for words.

It's probably not the greatest feeling knowing you're a bit of a dead ringer for the man responsible for murdering a U.S. president ... and Brock's stammering here reflects that.

The dude already had a lot on his mind right -- y'know, on account of the fact that he's gotta try and lead his team to a win on Sunday in the biggest game of the year -- and now ... he's got this weird connection to LHO that's been concocted by the Twitter-sphere. Not great!

Kanye West says he can't book arena shows to perform his new music ... and he's seemingly saying his antisemitic rants are to blame.

Ye just posted a video on his Instagram story complaining about being told by multiple venues there's no availability for him.

Kanye's reasoning ... "And you know why that is."

Reading between the lines here, it seems Kanye says people who run the arenas and stadiums have a problem with him ... likely because of his hateful rants.

There's one arena Kanye says is open to his schtick ... the United Center in Chicago.

Kanye says his hometown arena is the only one he's had access to in the past year ... and it's where he's hosting a listening party Thursday night with Ty Dolla $ign for their new album, "Vultures."

Ye claims he sold out the United Center in seven minutes ... so he's saying he's in high demand but is being blacklisted.

At least, that's the takeaway from this video where he speaks with a lisp due to his new titanium dentures.

Doubling down on his point, Kanye also posted an all-caps note on his IG saying ... "I HAVE NOT BEEN ALLOWED TO PERFORM IN A YEAR FEELS LIKE THE ELVIS PRESLEY MOVIE."

Kanye West dice que no puede reservar conciertos en estadios para presentar su nueva música y al parecer piensa que sus diatribas antisemitas son las culpables.

Ye acaba de publicar una historia de Instagram quejándose de haber sido informado por varios lugares que no hay disponibilidad para él.

El razonamiento de Kanye: "Ya sabes por qué es esto".

Leyendo entre líneas, parece que Kanye dice que la gente que dirige las arenas y estadios tienen un problema con él, probablemente debido a sus discursos de odio.

Hay una arena que Kanye dice que está abierta, el United Center de Chicago.

Kanye dice que la arena de su ciudad natal es la única a la que ha tenido acceso en el último año y es donde está organizando una fiesta de escucha el jueves por la noche con Ty Dolla $ign para su nuevo álbum, "Vultures".

Ye afirma que agotó las entradas del United Center en siete minutos, por lo que asegura que goza de una alta demanda, pero está en la lista negra.

Al menos, eso es lo que se desprende de este video donde habla con un ceceo debido a su nueva dentadura de titanio.

Reforzando su punto de vista, Kanye también publicó una nota en mayúsculas en su Insta diciendo: "NO SE ME HA PERMITIDO ACTUAR EN UN AÑO, SE SIENTE COMO LA PELÍCULA DE ELVIS PRESLEY".

Gina Carano ha demandado a Disney por su despido de "The Mandalorian", alegando que fue castigada por no seguir la línea de un partido político... y Elon Musk la apoya.

La actriz -que fue despedida por la Casa del Ratón en 2021- justo en la crisis del COVID- acaba de presentar una demanda contra su ex empleador, alegando que fue despedida injustamente por publicar sus opiniones políticas en redes sociales, algo que ella afirma que no le pasó a sus compañeros de trabajo masculinos que hicieron publicaciones similares.

En los documentos obtenidos por TMZ, Carano afirma que fue despedida por no ajustarse a la "ortodoxia progresista" de la empresa y en el público en general, especialmente en lo que respecta a las políticas del COVID en ese momento.

En concreto, Gina dice que lo que enfadó a Disney fue un mensaje que publicó y que hacía referencia a la persecución de los judíos durante el Holocausto, comparando ese escenario con lo que estaba ocurriendo con la gente que hablaba de COVID y otras posturas de tendencia conservadora.

Mientras que la compañía salió en su momento a criticarla por lo que dijeron era "denigrar a las personas en función de sus identidades culturales y religiosas", Carano dice que su publicación en las redes sociales no tenía esa intención en lo absoluto y que se perdió el contexto de lo que quería decir.

Y lo que es más importante, Gina afirma que Disney no la despidió por su rendimiento, sino simplemente por expresar opiniones políticas que se consideraban impopulares y contrarias a las de Disney... y Gina dice que eso era ilegal.

Lo que es más, Gina dice que otros coprotagonistas masculinos suyos también hicieron comentarios políticamente incendiarios en línea en ese momento -como cuando Mark Hamill fue acusado de publicar un tuit transfóbico- pero Disney aceptó sus explicaciones y siguió adelante.

En resumen, Carano afirma que su carrera se vio afectada negativamente y que perdió un montón de dinero, teniendo en cuenta que su trabajo iba viento en popa antes de que las cosas dieran un giro político. Ella está demandando por daños y perjuicios no especificados.

Gina Carano is suing Disney over her firing from "The Mandalorian" -- claiming she was punished for not toeing the political party line ... and Elon Musk's backing her.

The actress -- who got canned by the Mouse House in 2021, right in the thick of COVID -- just filed suit against her former employer ... alleging she was wrongfully terminated from her job over posting her political views on social media ... something she claims didn't happen to her male co-workers who made similar posts.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Carano claims she was fired for not conforming to "progressive orthodoxy" that was being espoused at the company and in the general public, especially as pertained to COVID policies at the time.

Specifically, Gina says a message she reposted that referenced persecution of Jews during the Holocaust -- comparing that scenario to what was going on with folks who spoke out about COVID and other conservative-leaning positions -- was what pissed Disney off.

While the company came out at the time to slam her for what they said was "denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities" ... GC says her social media post wasn't meant that way whatsoever, and that the context of what she was getting at got lost.

More importantly, Gina claims Disney didn't fire her over performance -- but simply for expressing political views that were considered unpopular and antithetical to Disney's ... and Gina says that was a legal no-no.

What's more, Gina says other male costars of hers also made politically inflammatory comments online at the time -- including when Mark Hamill was accused of liking a transphobic tweet -- but Disney accepted their explanations and moved on.

Bottom line ... Carano says her career was negatively impacted, and that she lost out on boatloads of cash considering her work was going swimmingly before things took a political turn. She's suing for unspecified damages ... but we're guessing it'll be a lot.

Bill Maher says Kanye West's antisemitism and appeal to young people is a dangerous mix ... which is why Kanye's appearance on Bill's podcast won't ever see the light of day.

We talked to Bill for a new "TMZ Investigates" airing Monday at 9 PM ET/8 Central on FOX -- examining how Kanye's legacy as one of the most influential hip hop artists of all time is impacted by his public outbursts and hateful remarks -- and Bill says Kanye's views are way too problematic for him.

Bill tells us the biggest problem with Kanye is how he uses his massive platform to spread antisemitic propaganda ... as BM puts it, Ye's spreading the fertilizer for antisemitism to grow.

While Bill tried to have a meaningful dialogue with Kanye, bringing him in for a two-hour conversation on the "Club Random With Bill Maher" podcast, Bill says he ultimately decided against airing the episode because he didn't want to amplify Kanye's nasty rhetoric.

Bill sums up his experience with Kanye this way ... Ye's a "charming antisemite."

El Presidente Biden almorzó con su esposa y su hijo en un lugar muy frecuentado por los famosos de Los Ángeles y provocó una pesadilla de tráfico para algunos conductores.

Etuvo en The Ivy en Beverly Hills el sábado por la tarde junto al Dr. Jill, y también se reunió con su hijo Hunter.

A propósito, el Ivy es un restaurante muy popular en la Ciudad de los Ángeles y está en una ubicación muy céntrica, lo que significa que el Servicio Secreto tuvo que cerrar las calles.

Échale un vistazo a algunas de las imágenes obtenidas por TMZ... hay policías alineados en todo Robertson Boulevard. Utilizan la cinta amarilla de precaución y nadie está conduciendo por la calle ya que la seguridad de Biden no los deja.

Fue una escena dulce en el interior del restaurante ... TMZ ha obtenido un video de Hunter dando a su madrastra Jill un gran apretón justo después de que ella entró, mientras que los agentes mantuvieron un ojo vigilante por el peligro potencial. Papa Joe también recibió un gran abrazo de Hunter.

Curiosamente, sin embargo ... Los agentes del Servicio Secreto estaban bien con otros comensales terminando sus comidas en el restaurante - algunas personas incluso publicaron fotos de la primera familia desde el interior del local. Nos dicen que The Henry al otro lado de la calle todavía estaba lleno de clientes ... donde muchos clientes curiosos miraron a echar un vistazo a Biden.

No está claro cuánto tiempo los Biden comieron en el restaurante, pero tenemos una foto de Joe en dirección a su carro antes de alejarse en su limusina, y parece feliz después de una comida.

Biden está en una visita rápida en Los Ángeles, presumiblemente para ponerle un poco más de dinero a su campaña para las próximas elecciones, la cual mucha gente espera que sea una lucha mano a mano contra el ex presidente Donald Trump.

El índice de aprobación de Biden está un poco bajo por el momento, mientras que Trump está triunfando entre los republicanos, ahora solo Nikki Haley está en su camino hacia la nominación presidencial del partido.

President Biden hit up an L.A. hot spot beloved by celebs for lunch with his wife and son ... and, it created a traffic nightmare for some drivers.

POTUS stopped at The Ivy in Beverly Hills for some grub on Saturday afternoon along with Dr. Jill, and the First Couple met with son Hunter as well.

BTW ... The Ivy's an uber-popular restaurant in The City of Angels -- and it's in a pretty central location which meant Secret Service had to shut the streets down.

Check out some of the images TMZ obtained ... cops are lined up all over Robertson Boulevard, yellow caution tape is set up -- no one's driving down this street if JB's security ain't letting them.

It was a sweet scene inside the restaurant ... TMZ has obtained video of Hunter giving his stepmom Jill a big squeeze right after she walked in while agents kept a watchful eye for potential danger. Papa Joe also got a big hug from Hunter.

Interestingly enough though ... Secret Service agents were fine with other diners finishing up their meals in the restaurant -- some people even posted pics of the first family from inside the locale.

We’re told The Henry across the street was still packed with patrons ... where many curious customers watched on to get a glimpse of Biden.

Unclear how long the Bidens ate at the restaurant ... but we also got a shot of Joe heading to his car before driving away in his stretch limo -- looking happy after a full meal.

Biden's on a quick visit to Los Angeles ... presumably to put some more money in his war chest for the upcoming election -- which many people expect to be a knockdown, drag-out fight with ex-Prez Donald Trump.

Biden's approval rating's kinda in the gutter right now ... while DT's blowing through the Republican field -- now only consisting of Nikki Haley -- on his way toward the party's presidential nomination.

Dr. Phil McGraw's known for helping families iron out their issues, and now he's taking on his biggest challenge yet ... trying to fix U.S. immigration.

The television therapy star visited the Southern border in Texas on Friday to film upcoming episodes of "Dr. Phil Primetime" -- a new primetime show he announced a few months ago which will reportedly follow a similar format as his OG "Dr. Phil."

DPM walked the fence down in Eagle Pass, TX and filmed several interviews with border agents while also stopping to take some pics with border patrol officers ... all while railing against the current administration's immigration policy.

McGraw's specifically calling out Vice President Kamala Harris ... pointing out she's America's immigration czar -- but claiming she's only actually visited the border with Mexico one time since she ascended to the VP job.

What's interesting here ... Dr. Phil isn't taking the "all or nothing" stance many conservative politicians and commentators have staked their reputations on ... instead, he said he's actually in favor of immigration and knows immigrants drive the U.S. economy forward.

But, McGraw explained, that doesn't mean there isn't a problem at the border ... saying we need to "teach people how to treat us" instead of showing undocumented migrants that "they do not need to follow the rules at our border" -- adding it's a slippery slope from ignoring immigration laws to migrants breaking laws once they're in the country.

As for those people against "America First" policies ... McGraw said they need to remember putting themselves -- or in this case, your country -- first isn't the same as being selfish.

FWIW ... the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol reported a nearly 40% increase in border encounters from fiscal year 2021 to fiscal year 2023 -- and that appears to be growing in subsequent months with encounters over the last 3 months of 2023 topping date from the same months in previous years.

Don Lemon says Taylor Swift could put Donald Trump through a very cruel summer ... 'cause, if she wants to, he thinks she could swing the election in President Biden's favor.

We caught up with the former CNN anchor Friday at LAX where he warned MAGA supporters to keep an eye on just how involved the singer-songwriter opts to be during this presidential campaign.

Lemon says TS wields a ton of power and influence, and while she's not exactly his generation ... he gives her all the props for fighting for her catalog and becoming a self-made billionaire.

As we reported ... members of Trump's inner circle are reportedly ready to go to "holy war" with Taylor if she decides to endorse President Biden -- as she did in 2020 -- but Don thinks it will take more than one-liners to combat her impact on the election.

Translation: underestimating her could sink DT's White House dreams.

This all falls in line with what FOX11 political reporter/anchor Elex Michaelson said on "TMZ Live" earlier this week ... warning Trump's going toe-to-toe with Swift, and Swifties, is a risky strategy.

Although, he does see a scenario where Swift ends up helping both candidates -- basically, Trump could use a Taylor endorsement for Biden to blast Hollywood elitism, and mobilize his supporters to get out and vote.

There has been a vocal minority hating on T-Swift ... even celebs like Plies, who are getting tired of seeing her all over their TVs when they're watching a football game -- so it's not far-fetched to imagine that hate motivating Trump backers.

Joe Biden's supposedly has a choice pet name for his likely 2024 opponent ... one you can't really use in polite society -- which he almost said in a speech recently!

A report from Politico released Thursday reveals the current Prez is seemingly disgusted with Donald Trump ... calling him a "sick f***" when talking to close friends and White House aides.

And, it appears he likes to double down on it too ... commenting "What a f***ing a**hole the guy is" on at least one occasion according to the premier political magazine.

While this may seem hard to confirm ... video evidence from a Pennsylvania speech early last month shows "Dark Brandon" seemingly ready to fire off his new catchphrase while railing against the former POTUS for his remarks.

JB said, "At his rally, he jokes about an intruder whipped up by the big Trump lie, taking a hammer to Paul Pelosi's skull and echoing the very same words used on January 6 -- "Where's Nancy?" -- and he thinks that's funny. He laughed about it. What a sick--."

POTUS never finished that statement ... instead the audience laughed and Biden added he thought DT was "despicable" -- pretty clear he wanted to use a more graphic term though.

If you're wondering if the Trump campaign's concerned about Biden's words at all ... it's pretty obvious they're not. Chris LaCivita, a top campaign adviser, told Politico it's abhorrent he'd use such words to describe his predecessor -- though it's "no surprise he disrespects the 45th president the same way he disrespects the American people with his failed policies."

Bottom line ... these fellas don't like each other, and they're not afraid to show it.

Joe also reportedly gets triggered by Don's statements all the time ... with Politico saying he'd expressed distaste for Trump after comments he made about Charlottesville, Vladimir Putin and veterans.

President Biden's seemingly trying to win over a key voting block in Michigan ... and a war going on a world away is playing a huge role, including some new policies he's enforcing.

POTUS is making a few stops in Michigan this week -- an important swing state in the 2024 presidential election -- and it looks like he's trying to win over Arab American and Muslim voters who are outraged over the war between Israel and Palestine.

Coincidentally or not, Biden's Michigan trip comes the same time he signed an executive order allowing the United States to sanction Israeli settlers, and potentially Israeli government officials, who are involved in violent attacks against Palestinians in Gaza.

Biden's been under fire in Michigan for his support for Israel ... and there's a huge Arab American population in the state, and they're threatening to pull the support at the ballot box.

There were even protests outside Biden's campaign stops in Michigan ... but it doesn't look like anything was disrupted, although the scenes were tense.

On its face, it looks like Biden might've timed the signing of this EO so he had something tangible to show voters in Michigan who support Palestine ... so he doesn't lose their vote to a third party, or worse, Donald Trump. That's how some are interpreting it, anyway.

At the same time, Biden's said to be running thin on patience with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ... so it seems the winds may be changing when it comes to Gaza.

Biden really needs Michigan to stave off Trump ... and it looks like the political posturing is in full swing as we march toward November.