Politix

The semiautomatic rifle the Secret Service says they spotted scoping out Donald Trump on a golf course has been taken away as evidence ... and the weapon looks big and powerful.

New photos show police carrying the gun away from Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach in an evidence box Sunday ... and loading it into the back of a Palm Beach County Sheriff's crime scene van.

Law enforcement says the weapon, an SKS-style rifle with a scope, was loaded when it was recovered ... and the gun's serial number was "obliterated and unreadable."

Lil Pump is having a meltdown over Taylor Swift announcing she's voting Kamala Harris for President.

The "I Love It" rapper keeps posting about Taylor on X ... ripping her for her recent Harris endorsement, which Taylor announced on social media in the wake of last week's presidential debate.

Lil Pump addressed an X post to Taylor Monday, saying ... "You have no clue why ur even voting for Kamala. Maybe cuz ur a billionaire and voting for her has 0 impact on ur life."

Body cam footage of Ryan Wesley Routh's arrest has surfaced in the aftermath of the suspect's alleged attempt on Donald Trump's life.

Watch the video ... Martin County Sheriff's deputies are seen shouting orders at the alleged would-be shooter after he was pulled over on a Florida highway Sunday.

As Routh comes into frame, he is seen walking backward while holding his shirt high above his head ... proving he had no concealed weapons on his person after allegedly attempting to assassinate the former prez on a golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida.

9:30 AM PT -- The U.S. District Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida released an affidavit ... in which an FBI agent claims Routh’s public Facebook post from July 10 urged followers to contact him via WhatsApp and points out records apparently placing the phone near the golf course from 1:59 AM to 1:31 PM on September 15 ... suggesting he was scouting the area before the attempted assassination.

The affidavit also notes Routh was seen fleeing in a Nissan SUV, which was later stopped by police. Routh was the sole occupant and acknowledged knowing why he was pulled over, according to authorities.

The Nissan’s license plate was apparently registered to a stolen Ford truck, and the agent says a witness near the golf course identified Routh at the vehicle stop as the person they had seen fleeing the scene.

Ryan Wesley Routh, the man suspected of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf course Sunday, made his first appearance in Florida court Monday morning.

Routh was charged with 2 counts -- possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

Routh will be back in court Monday, Sept. 23, for a formal detention hearing, and is set to be arraigned on Sept. 30.

The son of the man suspected of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump says his father hates the former president ... but is shocked, because his dad isn't a violent person.

Ryan Wesley Routh's son, Oran, spoke with the Daily Mail ... saying his father hates Trump like "every reasonable person does." Like father, like son -- Oran also isn't a fan of the former prez, but was floored to find out his dad is the gunman who allegedly targeted Trump at one of Trump's Florida golf clubs Sunday.

Oran says as far as he knows, his father's run-ins with the law only include a couple of traffic tickets ... but there's more to the suspect's record.

President Joe Biden is calling on Congress to load up the Secret Service with more resources ... indicating he thinks the protection agency is currently spread too thin to be fully effective.

The president spoke with reporters outside the White House Monday, where he gave his blunt assessment of the Secret Service after former president and current Republican nominee Donald Trump faced his 2nd assassination attempt this year.

When asked about the status of a full report into the incident, 46 said he is relieved to know Trump is okay ... and thinks the Secret Service is not up to standard in its current operations.

The suspect who allegedly brought a gun to Trump International Golf Course in what the FBI says appears to be another attempt on Donald Trump's life in West Palm Beach has been revealed ... with sources confirming his identity to TMZ.

According to law enforcement sources, the individual they say brought an AK-47-style weapon to the course is Ryan Wesley Routh -- a 58-year-old man from Hawaii.

Routh's social media is full of pro-Ukraine posts ... and, there's a YouTube video of Routh talking about why he left the U.S. to go to Kyiv to help fight back against the Russians.

Candice Bergen's getting political at the Emmys ... firing off a joke at J.D. Vance's expense to rapturous applause from the audience.

The TV legend stepped up to the mic during the Emmys in L.A. Sunday night ... talking about her time on Murphy Brown, which ran from 1988 to 1998 with a short-lived revival in 2018.

CB recalls a moment when then-Vice President Dan Quayle -- who served from 1989 to 1993 under President George H.W. Bush -- publicly called out the show for having Murphy decide to raise her daughter as a single mom.

Marjorie Taylor Green's not buying any lone shooter theories when it comes to Donald Trump ... claiming there's a whole conspiracy to kill the former prez.

The congresswoman posted just minutes ago about the shocking shooting ... reiterating information from officials who say the suspected shooter had a GoPro to film the alleged assassination attempt.

She points out this comes just two months after Thomas Matthew Crooks tried to kill Trump ... using the multiple attempts as proof there's a whole group of people working to kill the Republican candidate for prez.

Donald Trump wasn't that far from being fired upon ... with officials saying he was about 300-500 yards away from the suspect when Secret Service engaged the would-be shooter.

The Palm Beach Sheriff Ric Bradshaw just spoke publicly about the shots fired near Trump International Golf Course West Palm Beach around 2 PM ET this afternoon.

Bradshaw says a Secret Service agent spotted an AK-47-style rifle barrel sticking through the fence, ready for the former president to arrive at one hole, and the suspect had a GoPro to film the whole thing.

1:51 PM PT -- The FBI has just released a statement to multiple news outlets, saying they are "investigating what appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump."

1:27 PM PT -- Donald Trump has just put out his own statement in a fundraising email ... telling people he's fine -- but, there are always people in this world who want to stop you, implying that he was fired upon.

1:26 PM PT -- A photo of the alleged SUV is circulating online ... showing the smashed up vehicle on the side of the road surrounded by police vehicles.

1:20 PM PT -- Sheriff William D. Snyder of Martin County has just confirmed his officers have apprehended the driver of the vehicle, and he is in custody. He says the investigation will now be handled by the FBI and Secret Service.

1:14 PM PT -- TMZ has confirmed U.S. Secret Service agents opened fire after seeing a person with a firearm near Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, while the Republican presidential candidate was golfing Sunday. No injuries were reported. The person fled in an SUV and was later apprehended in a nearby county by local law enforcement, the officials said.

1:02 PM PT -- CNN is reporting one person has been detained after the shooting.

12:50 PM PT -- Fox News' Sean Hannity has just given a recap of events ... saying he's spoken with Donald Trump and Steve Witkoff -- one of the people golfing with Trump this morning.

Hannity says the two of them were on the fifth hole when shots rang out. He says Secret Service returned fire to where they heard the shots. He says Trump and Witkoff told him Secret Service found an AK-47 at the scene and a suspect was identified and chased by local law enforcement -- unclear if they arrested the suspect.

SH says it's still unclear if the shooter was firing on Trump or if the shooter simply fired his weapon near where Trump happened to be golfing.

12:44 PM PT -- Kamala Harris just tweeted about the shooting ... saying she's glad the former president is safe and adding gun violence has no place in the U.S.A.

12:37 PM PT -- Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have been informed of the shooting, according to the Daily Mail which cites a White House statement.

Donald Trump's safe after his campaign says gunshots were fired near him ... marking this the second shooting scare of the summer for the Republican candidate.

The former POTUS' campaign team put out a statement just minutes ago ... assuring people 45 is safe after gunshots popped off "in his vicinity."

His communications director, Steven Cheung, adds the campaign has no further details at this time.

Donald Trump made it short and sweet ... he despises Taylor Swift.

Trump is clearly butt hurt over Taylor's endorsement of Kamala Harris, because he posted in ALL CAPS Sunday on Truth Social, “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!”

Trump is true to form here ... support him -- like Laura Loomer -- he's your best friend. But if you cross him, well, God help you.

Conor McGregor recently expressed interest in running for president of Ireland. But, despite his popularity, does the former champ-champ stand any chance at winning his nation's highest office??

Chuck Liddell thinks he just might ... telling TMZ Sports he believes "The Notorious" can rack up some votes!

We caught up with "The Iceman" at LAX this week and asked him for his thoughts on McGregor's desire to run for public office, and whether he sees a world where Conor can actually win.

Donald Trump's got his pronouns all mixed up ... getting onstage during a rally and calling Latin singer Nicky Jam a "hot" woman -- and, looking a bit surprised to find he's actually a dude!

The 45th POTUS had a rally in Las Vegas Friday night ... and he introduced Nicky to the crowd -- asking fans if they know Nicky and adding "she's hot."

Trump then asks where Nicky's at ... and, watch the video -- once he catches a glimpse of NJ, he looks a bit surprised to see a guy walking toward him.

Bill Maher did some speculating Friday night that sent Donald Trump's newest bestie into a rage ... the 'Real Time' host says he has a hunch Trump's banging her.

The 'Real Time' host said Donald Trump may be old, but he's a dog always in search of women, and Bill said there are breadcrumbs of evidence leading him to Laura Loomer -- as he says, she's 31 and Trump's "type."

Well, B.M. noted she's been like white on rice with Trump recently, which then raised a question for him ... "Who's Trump f***ing? Because I said, 'it's not nobody.' He's been a dog for too long. And it's not Melania. I think we may have our answer this week."

A viral pic of a man lugging around 2 geese in Ohio is blowing up after Donald Trump’s bizarre pet-munching Haitian immigrant claims ... but we're told the photo’s just being twisted to fit the former prez's narrative, and what's actually going on is far less dramatic.

The Ohio Division of Wildlife tells TMZ the real deal behind the viral pic -- the guy was actually picking up 2 geese that were hit in a Columbus car accident. And by the way, that's 45 minutes from Springfield, where Trump's wild claims supposedly took place.

The wildlife org clarified to us you usually need a statement or receipt from the county sheriff or wildlife officer to claim an animal carcass. But the Franklin County Wildlife Office tells TMZ that for geese, you don’t always need a receipt ... so the guy was totally in the clear to have them.