President Trump

The Lord didn't send thunder or hail, but maybe a lightning strike at the White House can jolt President Trump onto a righteous path ... because a little shock therapy never hurts.

There's a thunderstorm in the nation's capital and the White House was right smack at the center of it. A bolt found its way to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

CNN photographer Khalil Abdallah caught the moment.

There's a storm brewing over Trump's SCOTUS nominee who's getting scorched for snubbing the father of a Parkland shooting victim. Then, there's legendary journalist Bob Woodward's book. The excerpts released Tuesday paint Trump as an egomaniac with "the understanding of a fifth or sixth grader."

Among other claims ... White House chief of staff John Kelly told colleagues Trump's "an idiot. It's pointless to try to convince him of anything. He's gone off the rails. We're in Crazytown."

Kelly's predecessor, Reince Priebus, reportedly called the presidential bedroom where Trump does most of his tweeting as "the devil's workshop." And, according to the book, Trump said of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, "This guy is mentally retarded. He's this dumb Southerner."

No surprise here -- Donald Trump doesn't think Nike should "Just Do It" with Colin Kaepernick ... saying the company's new ad campaign sends a "terrible message."

The Prez -- who's vehemently against NFL players who kneel during the National Anthem -- tells the Daily Caller he disagrees with Nike's endorsement. He says ... "I think it's a terrible message that they're sending and the purpose of them doing it, maybe there's a reason for them doing it ... but I think as far as sending a message, I think it's a terrible message and a message that shouldn't be sent. There's no reason for it."

It's interesting, though ... Trump admits Nike is a tenant in one of his NYC buildings, and says it pays him a lot of rent for the NikeTown location -- but adds, the company has the right to align itself with whomever it wants.

He adds ... "It is what this country is all about, that you have certain freedoms to do things that other people think you shouldn't do, but I personally am on a different side of it."

As we've reported, Kaepernick's ad, part of Nike's 30th anniversary of its "Just Do It" campaign -- has sparked major backlash ... including from the National Association of Police Organizations, which is calling for a Nike boycott.

On the flip side, several celebs and athletes have publicly supported the ad ... even Tom Brady.

As you'll recall ... Trump made headlines in September 2017 after saying NFL owners should fire players who kneel for the anthem, referring to them as "sons of bitches."

A year later ... the war rages on.

If Brett Kavanaugh watches 'Handmaid's Tale,' he's not going to like the demonstrations outside his Supreme Court confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill.

Protesters upset over Kavanaugh's possible ascension to the highest court in the land dressed as handmaids from the TV show -- a popular form of protest among women's rights activists.

Many are fearful Kavanaugh could become a powerful swing vote in the Supreme Court, one that could eventually overturn Roe v. Wade.

Kavanaugh's confirmation hearings began Tuesday, and it's sparked waves of protests in D.C. Brett is Donald Trump's pick for the Supreme Court. Kavanaugh would replace Justice Anthony Kennedy, and would almost certainly take a conservative stance on abortion.

Tuesday's demonstrators have at least one celeb on board with the cause.

Alyssa Milano recently posted this picture of herself dressed as a handmaid, with the red robe and white hat, holding a sign comparing Kavanaugh to the authoritarian regime from the TV show.

Critics of President Trump have drawn comparisons between the fictional regime in power in 'Handmaid's Tale' and his administration's stance on abortion, LGBTQ rights and religious freedom.

Bad news for Alyssa and co. as it looks more and more like Kavanaugh will soon join the Supreme Court. Brett needs only a simple majority to be confirmed, and Republicans hold a 1-vote majority in the Senate.

Seems Tom Brady and his old pal, Donald Trump, don't agree when it comes to Colin Kaepernick -- because the G.O.A.T. spent his Monday showing PUBLIC SUPPORT for Colin's new Nike deal.

Brady made his mark on Instagram -- where he "liked" four different posts featuring Colin's new Nike ad. The images were posted by LeBron James, Chris Paul, Kevin Durant and GQ -- all of whom were praising the deal on social media.

And, it's not a brand loyalty thing from Brady -- he's not a Nike athlete. TB12 actually has a deal with rival sports apparel brand Under Armour.

Of course, the bigger issue is Brady and Trump -- who used to be close (REALLY close) until their friendship suddenly went way south.

Remember, Brady even sported Trump's MAGA hat in his locker at one point. But, Tom's wife, Gisele, has been an outspoken critic of Trump since the election and it seems politics may have been the dividing factor for Tom and Donald.

Now, with Trump calling for the NFL to fire "sons of bitches" who don't stand for the national anthem -- a line has been drawn in the sand ... and it appears Tom has chosen his side.

4:00 PM PT -- Hard to tell if it's related, but the Prez just tweeted in all caps ... "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

Trump's tweet could be regarding his current struggle with Canada to reach a new NAFTA deal ... or he may have just felt the need to repeat his oft-used slogan. Just as likely, though ... it's a retort to Meghan's eulogy for her father.

Wolf Blitzer doesn't think anything at John McCain's funeral was out of line or too political ... and he's got no apparent issues with Meghan McCain's shot at the Prez either.

We got the CNN anchor at the Reagan National Airport in D.C. Saturday shortly after the late Senator's service wrapped up ... he said it was a beautiful funeral, fitting for "a great American and a great patriot."

Wolf also supported Meghan's comments about her father and the country, clearly slamming Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again" motto.

Meghan said, "The America of John McCain has no need to be made great again because America was always great."

Blitzer's on board with that sentiment, telling us though America's made mistakes, it's the greatest country in the world in his opinion ... and "it's always been great."

As we reported ... former Presidents and McCain rivals George W. Bush and Barack Obama also delivered eulogies for the esteemed politician's National Memorial Service Saturday.

A couple of John McCain's biggest rivals -- the ones who respected him, anyway -- honored the late Senator at his National Memorial Service ... and so did his daughter, Meghan.

Former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush delivered eulogies for McCain at the service inside the Washington National Cathedral ... which was packed with dignitaries paying their final respects.

President Obama clearly was addressing Donald Trump without mentioning his name, talking about politics today being small, mean, petty and grounded in insult. He talked about "phony controversy" and "manufacturing outrage." And, as Ivanka Trump looked on, he talked about certain people appearing "brave and tough" when they are actually steeped in fear.

Check out Meghan McCain's eulogy to her dad ... she moves the audience to applause as she explains how the current President can't hold a candle to her dad. She doesn't use Trump's name, but the message is clear.

McCain handpicked 43 and 44 earlier this year as speakers at his funeral, and Obama was reportedly surprised by the invitation. Remember, Obama defeated McCain in their run for the White House in 2008 -- and W bested him in the 2000 Republican primaries.

Although they butted heads with McCain on the campaign trail, there was always respect between the men. McCain famously shut down a voter who called Obama "an Arab" during their 2008 campaign battle.

15 people carried McCain's coffin at the memorial service ... including former VP Joe Biden, actor Warren Beatty, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Secretary of Defense William Cohen.

Obviously President Trump was absent from the service -- as was his respect for an American war hero. McCain reportedly made Trump persona non grata when he was making his funeral plans. McCain's former running mate in 2008, Sarah Palin, was reportedly also excluded.

Veep Mike Pence and WH Chief of Staff Gen. John Kelly also attended.

Pence was one of the speakers at McCain's memorial service Friday, where Congress paid tribute as he lied in state at the U.S. Capitol.

McCain's private burial will be held Sunday at the Naval Academy in Annapolis.

Originally Published -- 9/01/2018 6:33 AM PDT

President Trump is defending the way he handled the death of Senator John McCain, saying he did "everything that they requested" and didn't bungle a damn thing.

The Prez sat down with Bloomberg News Thursday for an exclusive interview in the Oval Office, and reporters asked if he missed an opportunity to unite the country and made a mistake by initially not keeping the White House's American flag at half staff until McCain was buried -- an honor that's been bestowed on other senators who've died while in office.

You'll recall ... Trump ordered the flag be flown at half staff the day McCain died, but it was flying at full staff just a day later -- which pissed off A LOT of people, and reportedly caused a veterans group to personally demand that he lower it again out of respect.

Trump caved to the pressure, and eventually issued a statement praising McCain's service to the country after acting clammy at first with reporters who asked about the late statesman.

There's also this ... Bloomberg asked if he thought McCain would've made a better president than Barack Obama ... and DT refused to answer, saying "I don’t want to comment on it ... I have a very strong opinion, all right." Bloomberg notes that Sarah Huckabee Sanders was staring daggers at her boss while he said this, to which he reportedly joked that she was "having a nervous breakdown" over his response -- adding he might elaborate someday.

John McCain is finally getting his due respect from President Trump -- his body is being flown to Washington D.C. on an aircraft that had to be approved by POTUS.

The late Arizona senator's casket was loaded onto one of the jets known as Air Force 2 -- which is often designated for the VP or First Lady's travel. As you know, 45 will not be attending McCain's service in D.C. ... reportedly because McCain wanted it that way.

Still, Trump announced earlier this week he had greenlit military transport for McCain, saying, "At the request of the McCain family, I have also authorized military transportation of Senator McCain’s remains from Arizona to Washington, D.C., military pallbearers and band support, and a horse and caisson transport during the service at the United States Naval Academy."

Prior to the statement, Trump was being incredibly stubborn on publicly speaking about McCain's passing ... refusing to answer questions about the Senator, and even briefly returning the White House flag to full-staff. It was eventually lowered back to half-staff.

There was no love lost between Trump and McCain. Then-candidate Trump mocked McCain's military service, saying he was not a war hero because he'd been captured in Vietnam.

A memorial service was held for McCain Thursday in Arizona, where a lot of people spoke in remembrance of the political maverick ... including a teary-eyed Joe Biden. McCain will lie in state at the Capitol Rotunda Friday before another memorial service Saturday.

You scratch Donald Trump's back, he'll scratch yours ... just ask Jim Brown -- who was just praised publicly by the President days after the NFL player went to bat for Donald during a radio interview.

Brown told "JT The Brick" he's still "really pulling for the President" after meeting with POTUS at Trump Tower right after Trump won the election back in December 2016.

Brown also said he knows supporting Trump will make him unpopular in the black community but said he believes Trump is doing "good things."

Fast forward to Monday morning ... when Trump tweeted about his old friend.

"Thank you to the great [Jim Brown] perhaps the greatest running back of all time, for your wonderful words and support."

"Since our meeting in New York, African-American UNEMPLOYMENT has reached the LOWEST LEVEL IN HISTORY. You get it!"

Trump made no mention of the NFL kneelers in the tweet, but they also share the same point of view on that issue -- firmly against it.

Over the weekend, Brown met with another outspoken Trump supporter -- Kanye West.

In fact, Trump also praised Kanye and his wife, Kim Kardashian West, while speaking at a fundraising dinner in Ohio on Friday.

"Now we're doing great and Kanye West liked me and that really lifted my -- Kanye West has some real power!" Trump said.

"He's got a good wife too, in Kim, I'll tell ya. She really is."

Trump continued to hand out compliments to his athlete friends on Monday ... praising Tiger Woods' response to questions about his relationship with POTUS.

"The Fake News Media worked hard to get Tiger Woods to say something that he didn’t want to say. Tiger wouldn’t play the game - he is very smart," Trump tweeted.

Steven Tyler is done giving Donald Trump chances ... the Prez better stop using Aerosmith's songs at campaign rallies ... and that means now!

We got Steven and his GF Aimee Friday in Bev Hills, going into Optometrix, when our photog asked about his repeated demands that Trump stop using songs like "Livin' on the Edge" and "Dream On" at various campaign rallies.

Trump has ignored the demands, and clearly Steven has had it up to here. His lawyers fired off 2 cease and desist letters during the 2016 Presidential campaign as well.

Tyler's lawyers fired off a letter to Trump Wednesday, telling the Prez to cut the crap .. this after "Livin' on the Edge" was played Tuesday at a West Virginia rally.

Tyler tweeted ...

Kimberly Guilfoyle was once married to a major Democratic politician and now she's hooked up with a Trump ... so which party is more entertaining at a party?

We got the former FOX News anchor -- and Donald Trump Jr.'s gf -- in NYC Friday ... and it was all table talk. You may remember, she was once married to then-San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who's now the Democratic nominee for California Governor.

She used to spend Thanksgiving with some major Dems, including San Francisco Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, and that's why we wanted to dish on which family is the funnest when it comes to breaking bread.

Kimberly's answer -- well ... no surprise, it's political.

As for Kimberly and Trump Jr. ... the two have been tight lately, posing for Metropolitan Magazine. Kimberly got this month's cover.

We're told Guilfoyle was draped in close to $1 million in jewelry for the shoot, provided by jeweler David Birnbaum of Rare 1.

Anthony Scaramucci says Omarosa trying to burn President Trump with his own words is likely to backfire ... 'cause we've already been there and done that, and nothing happened.

We talked to the Mooch about Omarosa's supposed 200 secret White House tapes that she's been slowly leaking over the past couple weeks, and he just doesn't think there's anything she has that'll do serious damage to 45. Like he points out ... if the Access Hollywood tape couldn't bring Trump down, nothing probably will at this point.

Oh, and don't forget everything else Trump openly said or reportedly said over his near two-year presidency -- from calling African countries s**tholes and referring to NFL players as SOBs, to implying neo-Nazis are "very fine people," and, of course, calling LeBron James dumb ... there's a lot of controversial statements out there.

Tyron Woodley was so pissed off that he was forced to sit near Darren Till at UFC 227 -- he stormed out of his seat and ordered staff to open a room at the arena so he could release some of his aggression in an impromptu training session.

Woodley and Till are scheduled to fight at UFC 228 in Dallas on Sept. 8 -- but, Tyron says someone at UFC 227 in L.A. thought it would be "real cute to put two f**king dogs next to each other right before they're about to fight."

It didn't sit well with the champ -- and things erupted right inside Staples Center.

Tyron tells the whole story on this week's 'Hollywood Beatdown' -- where he also rips Donald Trump over his "blatantly racist" comments about Omarosa.

Ex-NFL lineman Willie Colon has a strategy for dealing with President Trump's personal attacks on his enemies -- "When they go low, we go high."

The former Steelers and Jets player was out in NYC (wearing a sweet NY Knicks shirt) when we asked for his thoughts on a possible tape of Trump saying the n-word.

"Nobody should use the n-word," Colon said ... "Let alone Trump!"

President Trump either didn't know his Chief of Staff fired Omarosa or he played dumb ... this according to newly released audio in which Trump tells her he had no idea she got the ax.

You hear Trump faintly express regret as Omarosa explains General John Kelly gave her walking papers the day before. Monday on "Today," she said the President is nothing more than Gen. Kelly's puppet.

Omarosa also secretly recorded her conversation with Kelly, who would not say if Trump knew he was firing her.

She told TMZ on Saturday ... she believed Trump was a racist who was trying to start a race war. Omarosa says she heard an audio of an outtake of 'The Apprentice' in which Trump allegedly used the n-word.

The White House has lashed out at Omarosa, saying she's a liar and a disgruntled former employee. Trump himself just lit into her, apparently in response to the new audio, saying she was "wacky" and "begged" him for the administration role.

Omarosa apparently knew what was coming when she got the ax from White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, because she recorded it all on her cellphone.

The Trump ally turned enemy was on "Meet the Press" Sunday, and played the tape. She says it proves stories that she had to be dragged out of The White House during that XMAS party in December, 2017 were false.

You hear Kelly tell Omarosa the firing can be done one of 2 ways ... the easy way or the hard way. He says if she chooses the later it will create difficulty with respect to her reputation.

Kelly also says he's firing her because of "serious integrity violations." He actually says more ... that the violation involves "money issues" and "legal issues" that could make it ugly for her. He says she'd be subject to legal action, but that wouldn't be necessary if she quietly exits.

BTW ... the audio does reveal how she exited.