President Trump

"I'm honest, I've never voted in my life. This is my first time voting."

That's Shaquille O'Neal dropping a Shaq-sized bombshell -- confessing he's NEVER voted in an election!

... UNTIL NOW!!

"I've never voted before, America," Shaq said this week on Wednesday on The Big Podcast ... "But, now I'm doing all these voting campaigns and ya know one thing I never like to do, is be a hypocrite."

Yep, the 48-year-old NBA legend says he felt weird pushing voting initiatives like his #MyStartingFive challenge -- which helps people register to vote for Election Day 2020 -- while sitting on the sidelines.

So, he decided to actually vote this year -- by absentee ballot!

"In other words America, I voted for the first time and it feels good."

Shaq's co-hosts were in complete shock -- especially after Shaq was virtually sitting next to his buddy President Barack Obama, at Game 1 of the NBA Finals -- who obviously didn't get Shaq's vote back in the day!

Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris seemed to avoid answering nearly every question during their debate, but one of 'em couldn't dodge a fly ... for an uncomfortably long time.

Much of the buzz about the debate is focused on what looks like a common housefly that set up shop on the head of President Trump's Veep. While Harris and Pence danced around direct responses to moderator Susan Page's questions about COVID, the Supreme Court and the election ... the fly would not be deterred.

It landed on Pence's head during one of his remarks about systemic racism and police reform ... and remained there quietly, not moving an inch, even after he stopped talking. Talk about patience -- the fly even hung out during much of Harris' rebuttal, before taking off. Total photobomb time? 2 minutes!!!

As you'd imagine ... the little bugger is trending on social media -- and even Joe Biden couldn't help but fire off a Twitter jab.

Not exactly what the American people were tuning in for, especially after last week's disastrous debate between Trump and Biden.

No word if the fly is registered to vote. We've got a call in to Jeff Goldblum.

On a more serious note, Pence's left eye also caught the eye of many debate viewers, because it at least looked like a case of conjunctivitis ... aka pink eye.

Pink eye is a possible symptom of COVID-19, but pretty rarely ... according to doctors and scientists. Still, with more than a dozen people around the President already testing positive for the coronavirus ... the bloodshot eye made people wonder.

The White House says Pence's test results have been negative since the outbreak, and that includes one he took Wednesday in Salt Lake City ahead of the debate.

President Trump says his COVID diagnosis was a blessing from God in disguise ... and he wants the American people to get the same treatment he did -- for free.

Trump just released another video update on his health, and he says he's feeling great after getting treated with Regeneron. Trump promised to give the therapeutic to Americans who come down with COVID, and it's all gonna be free.

Ok ... lots of issues. First, Trump was speaking at The White House with NO MASK, despite the fact he has COVID, is contagious, and a hundred people who work in the residence quarters may be compromised.

What's even more ridiculous ... Trump says he's the one who decided he should take Regeneron. So, with all the doctors at Walter Reed, Trump decided he knows best so he's self-medicating.

And, there's this ... people with COVID can take a dramatically bad turn 5 to 7 days in, even if they feel good. In other words, he's not out of the woods. And, he's on steroids, which mask the symptoms.

Watch the video ... one minute in, you see Trump, and as he says "A short 24 hours later," spittle shoots out of his mouth. We point this out to show the dangers of the President being around people while he's still recovering from the virus.

BTW ... Trump's medical treatment for COVID would have cost more than $100,000 in our health care system, according to The New York Times.

Trump claims there are huge amounts of Regeneron just waiting to get sent to hospitals all over the country. He's also strangely calling it a cure and saying there are vaccines right around the corner.

Socialist Trump ... who saw this coming?!?

Americans should absolutely be concerned the man with our nuclear codes is on steroids, because the reality is President Trump's judgment could be impaired ... according to Dr. Robert Wachter.

Dr. Wachter, considered the father of the hospitalist field, joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and told us older COVID patients sick enough to be hospitalized have a decent chance of experiencing cognitive problems.

He added ... coupling that with steroids increases the odds POTUS might not be thinking straight.

Dr. Wachter, who's the chair of UC San Francisco's Dept. of Medicine, says Trump could be experiencing euphoria or sometimes even mania due to the steroids ... which might explain some of the President's recent tweetstorms. Let's be honest, its hard to tell.

Just to give you an idea how impairing steroids can be ... Dr. Wachter says the FAA wouldn't allow the Prez to fly a plane -- if he were a pilot -- due to his steroid dosage.

Frickin' raccoons, man ... they're feisty little beasts -- especially the ones in DC -- as CNN reporter Joe Johns learned while trying to report on President Trump's schedule.

The hilarious moment of levity went down early Wednesday morning on one of the White House lawns as a pesky raccoon interrupted Joe setting up for a live shot.

Joe stood his ground and yelled, "Get!!! AHHHHHH!!!!" ... trying to scare off the furry photobomber. He even threw a large object in its direction, but the raccoon kept coming.

JJ inched closer to losing his cool, and had some harsh words ... but we'll give him credit for not cursing while wearing a hot mic.

Apparently, this is an ongoing problem at 1600 Pennsylvania -- Joe later tweeted it's the second time in 2 weeks a raccoon's shown up during his morning show shift. He also dropped an important fact ... "No animals were harmed. I threw something to scare it off."

Add Kellyanne Conway to the ever-growing list of President Trump's inner circle to test positive for COVID-19.

Trump's trusted advisor just announced her test results, and it totally makes sense when you see the people she was exposed to last weekend at the White House.

Kellyanne was seated in a Bermuda Triangle of sorts at the Amy Coney Barrett announcement in the Rose Garden -- smack in the middle of First Lady Melania Trump, Sen. Mike Lee and Notre Dame President John I. Jenkins. All 3 have tested positive.

Kellyanne tweeted she's experiencing a "mild cough," but her often outspoken daughter begs to differ. Shortly before KC announced she'd caught the coronavirus, Claudia Conway was giving Mom the business on TikTok.

She posted an image of herself looking annoyed with the caption, "my mom coughing all around the house after Trump tested positive for covid."

Initially, it seemed like Claudia was just giving her mother crap, as she tends to do, but now ... not so much.

Kellyanne is the 12th known person at the Judge Barrett event to contract the virus. It's getting hot in DC.

President Trump just delivered his own update on his health ... he says he's feeling much better now after being diagnosed with COVID-19, but his Chief of Staff says the President's not out of the woods by a long shot.

Trump sat down on camera for a four-minute update from the "Presidential Suite" at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, explaining he wasn't feeling so well when he was first hospitalized but is doing a lot better.

It's now clear Trump was going downhill Friday before going to the hospital. We now know he was having breathing issues and he received supplemental oxygen. Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said bluntly, Trump's health Friday was "very concerning."

The Prez is optimistic he'll be out of the hospital soon and he's vowing to return to the campaign trail to finish what he started ... but he also admits the next few days will be key in determining the course of the virus. Meadows called the next 48 hours "critical."

Trump sounded pretty much like his normal self while delivering his remarks, and he says he's gonna beat this thing. POTUS says the therapeutics he's receiving are working. He did not say anything about being on oxygen.

Melania's doing well too, Trump says, and he's thankful for all the medical professionals at Walter Reed.

It's interesting ... Trump says he was given the option of isolating at the White House, but claims he was told he would have to shy away from others and the Oval Office. Trump says he just didn't want to be cooped up in a room, so he went to Walter Reed.

That makes no sense. He's now confined to a hospital suite and when he's released he'll go right back to being confined to the White House residence quarters until he tests negative.

Trump says he's thankful for all the support pouring in from both sides of the aisle and across the country and the globe.

Donald Trump's doctors just gave the low down on his condition, but the chief doctor dropped some alarming information, including Trump tested positive way before he revealed it, exposing hundreds of people to COVID.

Dr. Sean Conley said Trump was diagnosed 72 hours ago ... well, that would be Wednesday. That's stunning, because Trump was active Wednesday and Thursday ... remember, he held a fundraiser with hundreds of people. He did not reveal he was COVID positive until late Thursday.

Dr. Conley just said Trump's doing "very well," adding he does not have a fever anymore and is up and about in his hospital suite.

What Dr. Conley wouldn't answer -- if Trump has been on oxygen. He kept repeating Trump's not on oxygen "right now," but he repeatedly ignored reporters' questions as to whether he was on oxygen earlier. He finally said he was not on oxygen Thursday or Friday, but he simply would not say if Trump was ever on oxygen.

There was a gaggle of doctors and nurses at the news conference, but they dodged a number of questions, including how high Trump's temperature was.

Dr. Conley said Trump's symptoms were mild. -- nasal congestion, cough, a temperature, and lethargy. He says Trump is in his suite working, telling doctors, "I feel like I could walk out of here today."

There are reports a source with knowledge of Trump's health disputed the doctor's assessment, saying his condition was far more serious and he is by no means out of the woods.

The "Saturday Night Live" cast and host, Chris Rock, are trying like hell to keep up with the constantly changing news about President Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis ahead of the season premiere.

Leading up to Saturday's Season 46 kickoff, the first Presidential debate was the big story we all expected to see lampooned, but that all changed early Friday morning with the President and First Lady testing positive.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ ... writers and producers are now trying to figure out how to address the topic, and what adjustments, if any, have to be made the cold open or Rock's opening monologue.

We're told it's a very fluid situation, but 'SNL' wants to be sensitive ... and our sources say meetings and discussions were going on late into Friday night.

The good news -- for 'SNL' cast and crew anyway -- is we're told production and the writing staff isn't making drastic changes to what they had planned. Of course, you can expect to see the President's health addressed during the "Weekend Update" segment.

Our sources say the episode still won't shy away from the debate or campaign battles. Aside from Rock hosting, the premiere's heavily anticipated because Jim Carrey is taking on the role of Joe Biden, while Maya Rudolph returns as Kamala Harris.

If that wasn't enough for ya ... Megan Thee Stallion is the musical guest.

"Knowing him, he'll be able to go right on through this and hopefully not miss a beat."

Jerry Jones doesn't seem worried about Donald Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis ... he said Friday he's "very confident" POTUS will get through it all just fine.

In fact, the Dallas Cowboys owner says he's pretty sure #45 will still be able to do his job effectively over the coming days.

"No one in the world has the ability to handle this COVID any better than the office of the President of the United States," Jerry told 105.3 The Fan.

"I'm very confident that he'll be able to continue governing. I'm sure that he has anticipated this. Knowing him, he's the hardest worker you've ever seen."

Donald announced Thursday night he and Melania tested positive for the coronavirus and have already begun quarantining.

Trump is said to be only experiencing "mild" symptoms ... and he, too, seemed confident he'd beat the virus, adding in his official announcement, "We will get through this TOGETHER!"

Jerry and Trump have been friendly for years ... so Jones' support for the president comes as no surprise.

No, Hassan Whiteside did NOT threaten to leave America and move to Hawaii in the wake of that insane debate Tuesday night ... insisting he was framed on social media.

After the Trump vs. Biden debate, someone posted a tweet that appeared to be from the 31-year-old NBA star's official account, saying "i can't do this for four more years f*** america bro im moving to Hawaii"

The quote went viral (because it's hilarious) -- and was even picked up by some pretty big websites.

But, Hassan -- the REAL Hassan -- went to Instagram on Wednesday to call BS on the whole thing.

"If you want some clout, ya ain't gotta make fake tweets about me! You ain't gotta make fake tweets," Hassan said.

So, fake news ... but glad he cleared it all up.

Congressman Dwight Evans says President Trump was out of line with his jab at Philadelphia, and thinks that lashing out is gonna backfire on him come Election Day.

The U.S. Representative went to bat for his home district -- which includes West Philly -- when we got him in D.C. Wednesday. Evans blasted Trump for disrespecting the City of Brotherly Love during the debate by saying, "Bad things happen in Philadelphia."

Trump was specifically talking about an alleged poll watchers controversy when he made the comment, but Rep. Evans believes the dig goes deeper than that ... and shows POTUS doesn't value Ben Franklin's home turf.

The Congressman also claims Trump has zero support in Philadelphia as it is, and suggests the Prez might have sealed his fate in the entire Commonwealth of Pennsylvania with the diss.

As for Philadelphians ... it seems they're embracing Trump's hate, even as his campaign threatens to sue the city over allegations poll watchers were banned.

President Trump refusing to condemn white supremacists and continuing to undermine confidence in the election has Rev. Al Sharpton concerned about division and voter intimidation.

Sharpton was on "TMZ Live" Thursday to address the President's ominous words -- "Stand back and stand by" -- for alt-right group the Proud Boys ... and his apparent encouragement of supporters to take to the streets if he's dissatisfied with the election.

According to Rev. Al, the message is clear -- Trump stands by white supremacy, and gave a hate group his stamp of approval Wednesday night.

Sharpton believes this could have dire consequences and deliver a blow to our democracy if voters are intimidated to go to the polls ... something he suggests is Trump's motive.

Americans are preparing in droves to get outta Dodge after the disaster that was the first presidential debate ... or so it seems based on the line to get a passport.

The passport office in Times Square drew a flock of customers, all lined up Wednesday morning less than 12 hours after the debate ... or as CNN put it, the "s**tshow."

The NYC crowd played like a response to the head-to-head war of words between President Trump and Joe Biden, because fleeing the country is one of those things ya hear people -- on both sides -- say when they're pissed about politics.

We're told the folks in line were waiting for appointments with the Dominican Republic Consulate.

After last night, virtually everyone's unhappy. As we reported ... some lowlights of the chaotic debate included Biden referring to the President as a "clown," and Trump refusing to denounce white supremacy.

There were plenty of other disturbing comments and verbal attacks, and it's all resonating with the public.

As many viewers and pundits have said ... to hell with the candidates, the American people lost last night.

President Trump just officially tapped his pick for the next Supreme Court justice to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg ... Judge Amy Coney Barrett.

The Prez nominated the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals judge Saturday, just over a week after RBG passed away from cancer. Barrett, a Trump appointee to the Circuit Court, was a Notre Dame law professor. He dished out her bona fides and respectable resume while naming her as his nominee, while also calling on the Senate to do their duty.

Barrett began her remarks by praising the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg for her laudatory and consequential life. She noted RBG smashed many glass ceilings.  And, she had words about her mentor -- the late Justice Antonin Scalia -- and how he helped shape her vision of the law and how he taught her about collegiality even with people who are polar opposites.

Barrett said she'd learned a lot from Scalia and promised -- if confirmed -- to uphold the letter of the law as written, without any personal bias or otherwise. She also thanked her husband and her 7 kids, all of whom eventually came up on stage to pose for a photo op with the First Family.

Some more background on Barrett ... she is a die-hard conservative justice, who is a deeply religious, practicing Catholic. She's opposed to abortion, but has said she thinks Roe vs. Wade is more likely to be reimagined than overruled. In common parlance, reimagined means whittling away at the precedent.

Trump urged the public and the media to refrain from personal or partisan attacks against Judge Barrett, with a nod to how nasty and contentious Justice Kavanaugh's confirmation was. Trump went on to praise Justice Ginsburg, and explained why Barrett was the best choice to replace her.

If she's confirmed by the Senate -- which is highly likely -- the Supreme Court will have a solid 6-3 majority. The stakes are enormous, with abortion rights, health care, LGBTQ rights and voting rights on the chopping block.

Barrett has long been considered for a Supreme Court seat with Trump in office ... she was on the shortlist to replace Anthony Kennedy when he retired in 2018, a seat that is now occupied by Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

It's interesting ... when Trump filled Kennedy's seat, he reportedly informed advisors he was "saving" Barrett just in case RBG left SCOTUS during his presidency.

Barrett graduated from Notre Dame School of Law. She was in private practice before becoming a law professor at George Washington University and then Notre Dame.

Barrett has been serving on the Chicago-based 7th Circuit Court of Appeals since 2017. She's ruled on a pair of abortion-related cases, both times in favor of restrictions on access to abortion.

One key issue she's made herself perfectly clear on is the Affordable Care Act, arguing the birth control mandate is unconstitutional and the ACA overall is an overreach and abuse of Congressional power.

Kodak Black is turning to Donald Trump for help ... he's begging the President to commute his prison sentence.

The rapper's attorneys, Bradford Cohen and Jonathan Schwartz, sent a petition to Trump, obtained by TMZ, asking the Prez to cut Kodak a break.

Kodak's camp has lots of reasons why Trump should commute his sentence ... Cohen points out Kodak was sentenced to 46 months behind bars in his federal gun case, and claims the average sentence for the same crime is 18 months.

As you know, Kodak's locked up in a maximum-security federal prison in Kentucky, but Cohen says it's not warranted ... he claims the Bureau of Prisons "erroneously" viewed Kodak as level 4 criminal history, paving the way for Kodak to be housed in a maximum-security facility. Cohen claims the judge only put Kodak at a level 2, which means he could be housed at a lower security prison.

Kodak's attorney's also argue he's being unfairly punished for assaulting a prison guard in Miami ... repeating their earlier claim that Kodak was set up and possibly drugged.

KB's legal team also claims he was punished twice for the incident with the guard in Miami ... Cohen says Kodak was only supposed to get a 6-month sentence, but instead ended up with year-long punishment, which has kept him in total lockdown since last September, resulting in no phone calls or visits from anyone but his attorneys.

Trump's also being asked to consider abuse Kodak's allegedly suffering in prison -- beatings at the hands of guards, religious suppression and mental abuse.

As we first told you ... Kodak's suing the Federal Bureau of Prisons for alleged torture and denial of access to a rabbi, which his attorney's claim is a violation of his constitutional rights.

Kodak's also hoping his good deeds go a long way toward swaying Trump ... Cohen cites the hundreds of thousands of dollars he's donated to charities over the years, including playing Santa, gift cards at Christmas, donations to underprivileged youth, helping folks in his neighborhood and paying for children's education.

It seems like a long shot, but there's this ... Cohen may have an in with Trump.