Politix

Barack Obama is lacking competent security, Chappell Roan is clarifying her comments on Kamala Harris and Robert Kraft is spending big on Tom Brady memorabilia ... all this on today's TMZ TV Hot Takes.

First up on "TMZ Live," Harvey and Charles explain how Obama's Secret Service security detail got penetrated in Los Angeles, to the point where an armed man was standing right outside his SUV.

The hits keep coming for Macklemore ... he’s just been axed as the headliner for Neon City Festival, hot on the heels of his "F*** America" drama.

The Neon City Festival in Vegas didn’t outright blame the controversy for Macklemore’s removal, instead chalking it up to "unforeseen circumstances" -- and totally wiping him clean from the 2024 headliners section on their website.

Whatever the reason, it’s gotta sting for Macklemore, especially since he was just announced as a headliner ... days before he sparked outrage by chanting his anti-America stance during a pro-Palestine show.

1:15 PM PT -- A rep for Secret Service tells TMZ ... "The Secret Service cannot provide the details on our means and methods of protection, but we can confirm that at no time were any Secret Service protectees in the vehicle while the individual was walking down the alleyway. These claims are inaccurate. The photo in question was upon departure and not during the alleged incident."

However, TMZ has spoken with an eyewitness who tells us the armed security guard approached the window and observed Obama inside using a laptop ... and because the guard was armed, he quickly moved away from the SUV.

Barack Obama coming inches away from an armed stranger in a Hollywood alleyway is the latest stunning lapse of Secret Service security -- an absolutely shocking scene that played out last weekend ... TMZ has learned.

The former president was sitting in the back seat of his SUV Saturday around 7:30 PM outside hot spot restaurant Mother Wolf -- and that's when the armed man approached the vehicle, in his capacity as a security guard for a bar mitzvah going on upstairs from the restaurant.

We spoke to the armed guard -- who asked us not to use his name -- and he says he went downstairs to check the scene, because someone told him it appeared federal agents were outside, and they didn't know why.

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.

Diddy’s sitting behind bars over serious allegations, and suddenly his network of friends is back in the spotlight.

As you can see, some celeb sightings with the disgraced rapper are no-brainers, but others might raise eyebrows -- like his hangouts with Prince Harry and Prince William. Oh, and let’s not forget he’s crossed paths with Donald Trump a few times too.

Now, Trump has always had a knack for hanging out with some eyebrow-raising characters ... so the MAGA crowd's probably not sweating those pics of him cozying up to Diddy.

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."

D.L. Hughley says Janet Jackson knows good and well what she's doing by questioning Kamala Harris' race ... and he thinks Janet wants to hurt the Veep.

The comedian tells TMZ ... Janet repeating a claim about Harris that is so easily proven false shows there is malicious intent behind the public smear.

D.L. says Janet is peddling far right lies ... and he thinks it's ironic she's falsely claiming Harris' father is white when there are questions about the Jackson family actually wanting to be white themselves.

One of Kamala Harris' campaign offices in Arizona was shot up overnight ... according to police.

The Harris campaign's Tempe office was damaged by gunfire just after midnight Tuesday ... only days before the Vice President is scheduled to return to Arizona for a big rally.

The Tempe Police Department says no one was inside the Harris campaign office when the shots were fired at the front windows, but cops say the incident is raising concerns about the safety of those working in the building.

Janet Jackson's issues with Kamala Harris might go further back than this presidential campaign, because the Democratic nominee's past commentary about Michael Jackson's child molestation trial is resurfacing.

In the wake of Janet's criticism of Kamala -- in which she inaccurately claimed the Vice President's father was white -- footage from 2004 popped up on the internet, showing then-San Francisco Deputy City Attorney Harris sharing her 2 cents on Michael's impending trial.

She stated in the clip ... "In general, the child will be able to recall and recollect some detail, the incident and that is persuasive to a jury, even if it is the only testimony that is available."

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.

Janet Jackson is not reversing course on Kamala Harris, Kim Kardashian is meeting with the Menéndez brothers, and LeBron James is showing off some new ink ... all this on today's TMZ TV Hot Takes.

First up on "TMV Live," Harvey and Charles explain why Janet is not walking back her comments about Harris' racial background.

Stormy Daniels is no longer in the eye of the storm -- instead, she’s living it up with Nashville drag queens, trading courtroom drama for some fabulous performances.

TMZ obtained a clip of the former porn star living her best life at the Play Dance Bar ... where a Beetlejuice drag queen introduced her to the stage where she got the chance to introduce the next fabulous act.

As you can see, Stormy was definitely not shy onstage -- guess that one-night stand-up gig earlier this summer really paid off!