President Trump

Federal marijuana legalization is just around the corner, and the trail to legal weed will be blazed by President Trump ... so says former U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher.

The longtime Republican Congressman from SoCal was on "TMZ Live" Wednesday to talk cannabis, because Rohrabacher -- who's now invested in the weed industry -- says his former cohorts on Capitol Hill are already working on legislation to allow all Americans toke legally.

Rohrabacher told us why 2022 is going to be the magic year for chronic lovers -- and remember, he served 30 years on the Hill ... so, he knows what he's talking about when it comes to the inner workings of Congress.

The ex-Congressman became a marijuana champion during his tenure in D.C. and recently became a board member for BudTrader.com ... an online cannabis distribution platform.

It sounds like both sides of the aisle could come together in the name of ganja ... Rohrabacher predicts Trump will work with Congress to pass pot legislation.

President Trump ain't got no shame in his Twitter game ... kicking off Pride Month by congratulating the LGBT contributions a month after his administration effectively banned transgender people from the military.

POTUS reminded us moments ago in a tweet, "As we celebrate LGBT Pride Month and recognize the outstanding contributions LGBT people have made to our great Nation, let us also stand in solidarity with the many LGBT people who live in dozens of countries worldwide that punish, imprison, or even execute individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation."

Earlier this month the Trump Administration also announced a proposal that would essentially allow health care providers to discriminate based on gender identity, rolling back progress for the transgender community that was made over the past decade.

Just last month, the Pentagon began to implement a controversial new policy that critics say is essentially a "don't ask, don't tell" policy for trans service members. The Department of Defense says it's NOT a ban ... but it clearly says anyone with gender dysphoria taking hormones or who has already undergone gender transition will NOT be allowed to enlist. #SAD.

"Mr. Harris Goes to Washington" ain't a classic film but the purpose of T.I.'s trip to D.C. was classy ... to carry on the work of the late Nipsey Hussle.

We got T.I. on Capitol Hill where he attended a meeting with members of the Congressional Black Caucus as it tries to jumpstart incentive investment in low-income communities. It's a meeting Nipsey was scheduled to attend before he was gunned down in the neighborhood in which he himself heavily invested in ... Crenshaw.

Mayor Pete Buttigieg is going to bat for Colin Kaepernick ... telling TMZ Sports he supports the QB's right to take a knee during the national anthem -- and he's ripping Trump for going after the protesters.

"The way I feel about it is the flag that was on my shoulder when I served represented, among other things, our right to free speech," Mayor Pete -- a Navy veteran -- told us in New York.

"You don't have to like it, but one of the reasons we serve was to defend that right, the right of peaceful protest and the idea that we can protest what is wrong with our country."

That's when Pete took a swipe at POTUS -- who has publicly called for the NFL to fire any "son of a bitch" who doesn't stand for the anthem.

"If the president had served," Pete says ... "Maybe he'd feel a little more strongly about some of those freedoms. And, I get that there's a lot of strong opinions about this, but that's part of why we served."

Colin began his demonstration in 2016 to shine a light on social injustice and police brutality. Several players joined his movement, which began a very polarizing political topic.

"One thing about football is that nobody really cares what you say if you can play."

That's how Richard Sherman views the situation regarding his new 49ers teammate, Nick Bosa -- who's been at the center of controversy over tweets about Donald Trump and Colin Kaepernick.

Remember, back when he was a college student at Ohio State, Bosa referred to Kap as a "clown" -- which is interesting considering Sherman has been a strong supporter of Colin ever since the QB first began taking a knee during the national anthem.

The #2 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft also acknowledged scrubbing his social media pages of pro-Trump comments out of fear liberal fans in San Francisco wouldn't embrace him when he was drafted.

Sherman was asked about the situation by the Sacramento Bee -- and essentially said Bosa's views and previous comments won't matter if the guy produces on the field on Sundays.

“It’s not like something where guys are like, ‘Hey man, what about what you said?’ No. No. If he can play, he can play. If he can’t play, he won’t be here," Sherman said.

"But at the end of the day, that’s all that matters in football. Is he getting sacks on Sunday? Is he helping our team? Is he being a good teammate? Those are things that matter."

"Now, if he’s a bad teammate, that’s something we’ll address."

The star cornerback also weighed in on possible racial issues in the locker room stemming from Bosa's tweets and comments.

"At the end of the day, I think a guy that has played with African Americans his whole life, not saying he can’t be racist, but they know how to maneuver around African Americans," Sherman said.

Donald Trump has just presented Tiger Woods with the Presidential Medal of Freedom -- and joked about how the two always remember the good things ... and never the bad.

Tiger was emotional as he accepted the award in front of his family and girlfriend -- and choked back tears as he spoke about his late father.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award in the United States -- and is given to people who make an especially great contribution to American society.

Trump had announced Woods would be receiving the award after Tiger won the 2019 Masters in Augusta.

Trump couldn't have been more complimentary to Woods -- hailing the 43-year-old as an extraordinary athlete and "also a great guy."

Trump says Woods inspired millions of Americans with his thrilling victories on the golf course -- including that amazing win at the 2019 Masters ... which Trump described as an "incredible comeback" after all of the physical ailments he's dealt with over the years.

POTUS also said Woods is the embodiment of the American spirit -- "always striving for greatness."

Woods thanked his kids, his mother and his girlfriend -- and shouted out the people who stuck with him through "the good and the bad, the highs and the lows."

Unclear if he was specifically referencing golf -- or his other issues over the years.

Michael Cohen's got the Monday blues on steroids ... he just checked himself into prison to begin his 3-year sentence -- but on the positive(ish) side he can hang with The Situation from "Jersey Shore."

President Trump's former personal attorney was spotted Monday arriving at the Federal Correctional Institution in Otisville, NY ... where he'll be incarcerated after pleading guilty to tax fraud and campaign finance violations.

As we reported ... Cohen was slapped with 8 federal charges in August 2018. The campaign finance violation was for his $130k hush payment to Stormy Daniels in the 11th hour of the 2016 election.

Before heading off to the minimum-security prison -- considered a haven for white-collar criminals and 70 miles away from his NYC crib -- Cohen told reporters outside his pad "there still remains much to be told and I look forward to the day when I can share the truth."

Cohen also appeared to take a shot at Trump ... saying by the time he's released he hopes "the country will be in a place without xenophobia, injustice and lies at the helm."

Lindsey Graham just provided some major viral content at William Barr's Senate Judiciary hearing on the Mueller report, by saying out loud -- and uncensored -- "Trump is a f***ing idiot."

The Senator wasn't expressing his own opinion about President Trump, but rather reading text messages between former FBI employees, Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, at Wednesday's hearing.

In the full exchange, Graham pulled from Strzok's texts to Page, saying ... "I am riled up. Trump is a f***ing idiot, is unable to provide a coherent answer. I can’t pull away. What the f*** happened to our country??!?!"

Graham followed up his comment -- which aired live on TV -- by saying, "Sorry to the kids out there." The FCC might want an apology too.

The Judiciary Committee is questioning Attorney General Barr about the findings of special counsel Robert Mueller's report ... after a Mueller letter stated Barr's summary of his report "did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance” of his investigation.

As for Strzok and Page ... their relationship and feelings about Trump have been a hot topic, and used by the president's supporters to argue the FBI was biased against him.

Graham's making sure we don't forget.

2:15 PM PT -- We got the Senator out after his profanity-laced moment earlier Wednesday, and he doubled down on the quote, and why it was important for everyone to hear.

CNN's Don Lemon says he wasn't shocked to see President Trump congratulate Nick Bosa on being the #2 pick in the draft -- while ignoring Kyler Murray -- in part because Bosa is white and Murray is black.

Lemon was leaving the CNN building after his show Monday night when we asked about Trump's congratulatory tweet to Bosa ... who had been very vocal about his support for #45.

"Bosa is a supporter of Trump," Lemon said ... "[Bosa] doesn't like Kaepernick. It's everything this President is about."

Lemon added, "I think we should be congratulating the #1 person [Kyler Murray] as the #1 person made history."

Of course, Murray became the first person to be selected in the first round of the NFL and the MLB draft ... an amazing accomplishment.

"Don't forget the #1 person [Murray] is also black," Lemon added.

As for Bosa, he had previously called Kaepernick a "clown" on social media -- but later deleted the tweet.

When pressed about Kaepernick at his first press conference with the San Francisco 49ers, Bosa backtracked ... saying the name-calling was a bad decision.

Bosa also said he "respects what [Kaepernick] has done" and apologized for the initial tweet.

Kellyanne Conway is defending President Trump's decision to rip Jussie Smollett's acting chops ... saying the Prez is just following the lead of State's Attorney Kim Foxx.

We got Kellyanne out in Washington D.C. on Sunday, and our photog asked about the President taking aim at Jussie and ripping him as a "3rd rate actor" during a Wisconsin rally.

Kellyanne says Trump is just echoing what Foxx said about Jussie when Foxx referred to Smollett as a "washed up celeb" in unearthed text messages.

Conway, counselor to President Trump, goes even further ... saying there are lots of people in Chicago -- powerful ones too -- who are on Trump's side when it comes to Jussie and the alleged attack.

President Trump is looking to cash in on the Mueller Report ... because he's asking his supporters to buck up for his re-election campaign and send a HUGE message to his haters.

Trump's campaign sent an email Thursday to subscribers, hours after the Prez declared victory and total vindication over the Mueller Report, asking them to help raise a million bucks in 24 hours.

Trump's campaign is taking tons of swipes at the Democrats and "Fake News" media ... asking how many times must he be exonerated before the attacks stop.

We're guessing Trump's campaign staffers didn't read the Mueller Report, because Mueller said he could not exonerate the Prez.

POTUS declared "Game Over" moments after Attorney General William Barr held a news conference saying Mueller found nothing on Trump ... but his campaign says this is just the beginning of the "attacks and lies" as the 2020 election nears.

George Lopez is ripping Sen. Ted Cruz to shreds over his idea to use money seized from El Chapo to fund President Trump's border wall.

We got the comedian Thursday at LAX, and asked him about Cruz's suggestion that the billions seized from El Chapo's drug cartel should be used to secure the southern border. Needless to say, George has very strong feelings about the wall, Ted and ... the senator's head and ass!!!

El Chapo was found guilty on 10 federal drug charges Tuesday, and the Mexican drug kingpin is now facing life in prison. Prosecutors are seeking $14 BILLION in drug profits and assets from El Chapo's Sinaloa Cartel.

Barron Trump looks like he's on his way to the NBA ... cause the 12-year-old has reached, if not, exceeded his dad's height.

This pic was snapped as Barron, his mom and dad trudged through the snowy tarmac Friday while they were boarding Air Force One.

You get another perspective from the wider shot at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland ... how Barron has sprouted. He actually looks taller than the President from this angle.

The family is headed to sunny Palm Beach, Florida for the weekend.

It's interesting by comparison ... his half-brother, Donald Jr., is 6'1" and his other half-brother, Eric, is 6'5". Barron's half-sister, Ivanka, is 5'11".

Sen. Chuck Schumer has beef with Nancy Pelosi ... the good kind.

We got the Senate Minority Leader at Reagan Airport Friday, hours after President Trump announced a temporary end to the government shutdown, and asked if Nancy deserves a steak for standing up to the Prez.

Schumer didn't hesitate ... and ya gotta hear what cut of meat Chuck says Nancy should be chowing down on tonight!

Word on the street is Nancy is the most effective, if not the only person in Washington, who can go toe-to-toe with Trump ... and ya gotta believe it, after she refused to cave into the Prez's demands for wall funding.

President Trump and the Democrats have reached a deal to end the government shutdown and reopen the government ... for 3 weeks.

The Prez announced the deal Friday during a press conference in front of the White House ... ending the shutdown that had dragged on for an unprecedented 35 days.

The deal does not include funding for Trump's beloved border wall ... and the temporary end to the shutdown comes as thousands of federal workers missed another paycheck during the longest government shutdown in history.

The timing of the deal comes after increased urgency to fund the government following Friday's decision by the Federal Aviation Administration to temporarily halt flights into and out of LaGuardia Airport in NYC because of staffing shortages as a result of the shutdown.

President Trump's ban on transgender people serving in the military doesn't make any sense to retired Navy SEAL Kristin Beck ... because she says trans soldiers are just as effective killing machines as their counterparts.

Kristin, a transgender woman and former SEAL Team Six member, tells TMZ ... the reasoning behind the ban -- trans service members aren't as lethal -- doesn't hold water, because she knows lots of openly trans people in the military who are great at their jobs.

Trump's ban barring most trans people from serving in the military was revived Tuesday, after a 5 to 4 vote by the SCOTUS ... and Kristin is pissed!