Politix

The 20-year-old who tried killing Donald Trump is said to have been a black sheep and a loner who would get bullied in school -- and now, we have video showing exactly that.

Thomas Matthew Crooks was filmed on camera a few years ago while he was in high school -- and the footage, which has surfaced online, shows him being hassled in class by another student. TMC is sitting at his desk ... and you can see somebody yanking on his pant leg.

The person who's tugging at his pants seems to be trying to straight up pull him out of his seat -- and although it looks playful in nature ... you can even hear someone off-camera saying "stop" repeatedly.

12:24 PM PT -- DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas just announced that after speaking with President Biden, the Secret Service would be assigning a detail to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ... so Donald Trump's plea worked!

11:59 AM PT -- RFK Jr. just took to X to comment on Trump's remarks saying, "It is a hopeful sign for our country when a political opponent calls for one's protection. Maybe our country can unite after all."

Donald Trump is now echoing what Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been calling for throughout his entire campaign -- saying the presidential candidate needs Secret Service protection ASAP.

Donald Trump said he thought a Vice Presidential running mate is only useful if something bad should happen to POTUS ... this just a few hours before the assassination attempt, and a couple days before he ultimately landed on a name.

The Republican candidate seems to have unintentionally foreshadowed what was about to happen when FOX News' Harris Faulkner pressed him about not having a VP picked yet in an interview that was filmed just before Trump's remarks at the Butler, PA rally.

He told her he didn’t want to belittle the sidekick role -- pointing out people in his orbit were touting the importance of Veep -- but in his POV, VPs are really only needed if something bad were to happen to the actual president ... and he noted this a couple different times.

Donald Trump might as well be the next recipient of the UFC's "BMF" belt ... 'cause Dana White gushed over No. 45's handling of this weekend's assassination attempt -- calling his close friend the "ultimate American badass."

The UFC honcho joined "The Pat McAfee Show" on Monday to share his reaction to Saturday's rally shooting in Butler, PA ... and he said he was "literally blown away" by how The Donald responded after nearly losing his life at the hands of Thomas Matthew Crooks.

"This guy is almost 80 years old," White said minutes ago. "The guy tried to blow his head off. And to have the reaction that he did when he got up, this guy has been a friend of mine for 25 years, one of the greatest human beings I've ever met. He's an unbelievable friend, and he's forever now the ultimate American badass."

Jack Black's Tenacious D bandmate Kyle Gass had one wish for his birthday -- and it's being called a disgusting sentiment after someone tried killing Donald Trump.

Gass was performing alongside JB in Sydney, Australia over the weekend -- and when Jack asked him what his birthday wish was onstage ... KG said, "Don’t miss Trump next time" -- a clear reference to Thomas Matthew Crooks firing a shot at DT over the weekend.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Jack wasn't aware Kyle would say this, and that he doesn't condone violence.

Forbes pulled an article suggesting Black voters might relate to Donald Trump and feel more likely to vote for him after the assassination attempt ... probably for good reason.

The piece was titled "Will Surviving Gunfire Be Donald Trump's Next Appeal To Black Voters?" -- and it was written by USC professor and DEI expert Shaun Harper ... who himself is Black, and was more so posing this premise as a hypothetical rather than a statement of fact.

Still ... his argument that Trump may try to use this moment -- which he hasn't yet -- as a way to appeal to Black voters was met with a lot of pushback ... with many calling it racist.

A bullet whizzing just past Donald Trump's head was caught in a photo during Saturday's assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania campaign rally ... and it barely missed him.

NYT photog Doug Mills took an incredible photograph -- showing the bullet hurtling through the air above Trump’s shoulder, dangerously close to him ... and from his POV, it's likely the bullet that nicked him in the ear. However, that's not quite confirmed yet.

Doug told "CBS Mornings" he thought the defining shot of the whole thing was Trump defiantly raising his fist as he was escorted offstage. But when he looked back at his photos, he realized he had a golden nugget -- a pic of the bullet that probably left Trump bloodied.

Donald Trump dodged another bullet Monday, when a judge dismissed his criminal classified documents case, ruling the appointment of Special Counsel Jack Smith was a violation of the Constitution.

Judge Aileen Cannon determined any special prosecutor must be appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. In this case, the Special Council was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland, and that's not kosher under the Constitution.

Biden had tried to avoid making the appointment to avoid the appearance of political retribution, but now it seems that backfired.

Donald Trump is alive today thanks to an immigration chart that was his focus of attention as shots rang out ... so says the 45th President.

Trump made the claim to his former White House physician, Ronny Jackson, during a phone conversation ... hours after 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks shot him in the ear at a Pennsylvania campaign rally Saturday, according to the New York Times.

Jackson, now a Texas congressman, told the NYT Trump believes his life was spared after he turned sideways to refer to immigration statistics from the chart displayed on a screen while onstage in a field in Butler, PA.

Would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks was rejected from a high school rifle club, in part because he was a bad shot.

The 20-year-old, who was taken down by snipers Saturday after wounding former President Trump, killing one person in the crowd and injuring 2 others ... tried to get in the rifle club, according to Frederick Mach, who currently heads the team and spoke with the NY Post.

Another member of the team when Crooks tried out, Jameson Myers, told the Post something was off with him ... something that just didn't sit right. He reportedly had odd interactions with the students and coaches.

50 Cent seems impressed Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt -- something he's personally familiar with ... which he highlighted with a Photoshop job and a song.

The rapper was performing this weekend in Boston -- right on the heels of the assassination attempt -- and he did one of his most famous tracks, 'Many Men,' for the audience ... which featured a custom album cover of his "Get Rich or Die Tryin" project.

Instead of the usual shirtless Fiddy on the front that we've all seen and known -- it was Trump's face that was superimposed over 50's body ... a deliberate move, no doubt.

New video has surfaced showing what many are saying about the attempted Donald Trump assassination … it unfolded in slow motion and in plain view, with a molasses-like response from law enforcement.

This clip -- which is making the rounds on social media -- is absolutely stunning for all the wrong reasons … because it shows the shooter moments before he set up his weapon, took aim and attempted to kill the ex-Prez, and A LOT of people saw it.

Check it out … the cameraman captured the whole scene and you can see 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks apparently trying to lay low after he’d made his way onto the top of a building outside the main grounds of the rally -- but he didn’t do a very good job, because many noticed him and some even verbally tried flagging his location to cops on the ground who were walking around.

There's a presidential conspiracy coming out of the White House ... about the leader of the free world taking extra steps to keep their feces a secret ... and this poop may hold water.

TMZ Studios has a new series, "Strange & Suspicious," now airing on a dozen FOX stations, where we explore strange, unexplained and downright weird stories ... including the possibility foreign adversaries try to dig up dirt on POTUS by digging through his poo.

Think about it ... there's a lot that can be learned from taking a sample of someone's crap ... like finding out if they suffer from cancer.

Donald Trump just touched down in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention, about 24 hours after taking a bullet onstage ... and, he's still looking defiant.

Trump's deputy communications director Margo Martin posted a video to X just moments ago showing the former Prez landing in the Badger State ... and, check out the clip 'cause it's hard to tell he's even been shot.

The president carefully walks down the steps from his private plane but stops about halfway down ... raising his fist in the air and pumping it off in the distance.

The Trump rally shooter was laid out on his belly, took aim and fired shots into the crowd before he got met with incoming bullets that killed him ... and TMZ has it all on video.

We've obtained an incredible clip that shows the moment the gunman opened fire at the Butler, PA rally Saturday -- and you can see the guy looking through either a scope or iron sights on a roof ... with people watching down below and freaking out, their panic palpable.

The guy has longer brown hair, and he seems to be wearing a grey shirt/khaki pants -- and as you can see, he's carefully trying pinpoint a target from afar before pulling the trigger.

President Joe Biden's asking Americans not to jump to conclusions about the man who shot Donald Trump ... urging people not to make assumptions about his affiliations.

POTUS addressed reporters Sunday morning ... confirming he did speak with the former president by phone Saturday night following the shooting -- and he's keeping Trump and his family in his prayers.

As for the shooter ... Biden points out the public knows his name, but not his motives -- and, he's cautioning people to avoid speculating on who the shooter may be aligned with politically.