White House

The spirit of Christmas is alive and well at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and so is "The Spirit of America" ... impeachment hearings be damned, as far as the First Lady's concerned.

Melania Trump unveiled the patriotic theme for this holiday season's decorations at The White House, saying ... "I am delighted to share this beautiful exhibit of patriotism for all to see."

In a video, Mrs. Trump walked down the halls, cruising through different wings to reveal the USAwesome highlights ... like a White House advent calendar, a gingerbread house in the State Dining Room featuring the WH and famous landmarks from across the country and multiple gorgeous Christmas trees.

The trees include A Gold Star Family Tree to honor those who lost their lives serving in the military ... and the official 18-foot-tall White House Christmas tree.

At one point, Melania's seen sprinkling snow on the tree's branches, and the ornaments include red, white and blue flags and ribbons ... and Scrabble tiles spelling out "Be Best" -- the name of her anti-bullying initiative.

President Trump couldn't give Conan, the ISIS-killing dog, a real Medal of Honor ... so U.S. Special Forces just cooked up a new award so DT could present it to the four-legged hero.

We've learned U.S. Special Operations fashioned a one-of-a-kind medal for Conan -- the Belgian Malinois canine credited with helping off ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi earlier this month in a U.S.-led raid -- which 45 gave the pooch during Monday's visit to the White House.

A U.S. Special Ops spokesperson tells TMZ ... the award has no specific name, and it was created specifically to recognize the dog for his contribution to the al-Baghdadi operation. We're told Special Ops created the award specifically for Trump to present to Conan.

As you know ... Conan wasn't eligible for the actual Medal of Honor, because those only get dished out to humans.

President Trump might not be giving Conan, the ISIS-killing dog, the Medal of Honor, but he did settle for a pat on the head in front of cameras at the White House.

DT brought out Conan -- the Belgian Malinois canine who's credited with helping take out ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi a few weeks ago in a U.S.-led raid -- and introduced her to the press in the Rose Garden ... going on to say he'd given the pooch a medal and plaque.

Of course, she wasn't eligible for the actual Medal of Honor -- those don't get dished out to nonhumans -- but it sounds like 45 wanted to honor Conan properly nonetheless.

He went on to explain Conan has recovered nicely after being injured in the raid, and apparently ... she's already gone on to do other missions for us. Trump also said that she's at peak age, and nowhere near retirement. These dogs go strong for around 6 years.

VP Mike Pence had the honor of petting the pooch through much of the announcement, and Conan certainly appeared to like it. She was calm and collected the entire time.

Rep. Eric Swalwell seemed to cut the cheese live on national TV ... but the cheese, as it turns out, was apparently a studio mug.

The California congressman was doing an interview Monday on MSNBC's 'Hardball' with host Chris Matthews -- and while he was going on and on about Ukraine and alleged malfeasance by DT ... something that sounded like a loud, wet fart blasted through the airwaves.

It certainly seemed like flatulence, and Rep. Swalwell even paused a moment right afterward in what many viewed as an acknowledgment of the ripped gas. And, of course, #fartgate and #shartgate soon started to trend everywhere on Twitter as a result.

Funny enough, the official 'Hardball' account excused the noise away as someone dragging a coffee mug across a table in the studio -- which just happened to get picked up on a mic.

Swalwell was ecstatic, quickly using the network's cover as what he described as "TOTAL EXONERATION!" -- very Trump-like, right?! And yes, everyone had a good laugh over it -- Republicans and Dems alike. It might've been the most uniting thing in a while, actually.

And, for those looking to go even deeper down the rabbit hole ... some have pointed to a theory that the would-be fart actually came from Matthews. Apparently, there's a history of gas being passed on his show over the years, as one Twitter user dutifully pointed out.

Anyway, if these impeachment hearings are lacking pizzazz -- as NBC News itself noted last week -- then Swalwell (or Matthews) just dropped a much-needed fun fart bomb.

Adam Carolla thinks Joe Biden is a bit of a dinosaur trying to roam the 2019 landscape -- and when he calls weed a "gateway drug" ... AC thinks Biden's making himself extinct.

We ran into the comedian Monday night in WeHo and asked him about something JB said recently on the campaign trail that's kinda having people -- mostly millennials, frankly -- rolling their eyes and looking at the former VEEP as an old-timer and out of touch.

ICYMI ... Biden was at a Vegas town hall this weekend and got asked if his stance on legalizing recreational marijuana nationally has changed. Apparently, Joe wasn't for it in the first place, and still isn't -- saying there's not "enough evidence" to pull the trigger.

Adam notes that the term "gateway drug" is incredibly antiquated, and then goes on to list a number of things and experiences in life that can potentially lead to some damage.

Watch ... he gets pretty introspective, and it kinda makes you think about it. It should also be mentioned -- Adam sits on a weed advisory board, so he's about that life.

Akon's ideal winning ticket in 2024 is Kanye West for President and himself for Vice President, but there's a small caveat ... he says it's all up to God.

We got the singer outside Avra restaurant in Beverly Hills Monday night, and he elaborated on some recent comments he made about Ye running for Prez -- he's definitely supportive, even though he knows many are skeptical.

Akon suggests Kanye could use some help ... and who better than a guy who's got his back, but also offers different viewpoints. Meaning, someone who does NOT align with Donald Trump -- like Akon!

Not sure that would work, since Kanye sure seems like he'd run as a GOP candidate, but still ... Akon says he'd be cool riding shotgun as VP.

As we reported, Kanye got some unintended laughs earlier this month in NYC when he doubled down on his presidential aspirations, and had to emphasize for the audience ... he's dead serious.

He went on to say when the time comes for him to launch his campaign, his Yeezy brand "will have created so many jobs, I'm not gonna run [for President], I'll walk."

Akon, at least, believes anything is possible ... even West/Thiam in 2024.

Dan Bilzerian's dead set on running for President of the United States and winning, and to show he's serious ... he's willing to give up a few of his favorite things.

The popular playboy poker player tells TMZ ... he wasn't joking when he recently told us he plans to run for Prez in 2024, and he vows to go straight edge if he's elected -- no sex, drugs or alcohol -- and will abstain his entire time in office.

Dan says he'll be quitting those activities to both focus on the task at hand and prove to voters he means business ... consider it his major campaign promise.

As for what else he'll run on ... Bilzerian tells us he believes the world needs his help, there's too much corruption and too many laws, and saving the environment should be a top priority.

He also says he'll run as a Republican, but points out he has some traditionally liberal views too. For instance -- Dan's very pro-gun, but he's also pro-choice. He says he's pro-gay rights but doesn't agree with hormone treatments or sex changes for people under 18.

Bilzerian does give us a caveat -- he recognizes becoming a presidential candidate will drastically alter his life, so he says he might need more time to commit ... in which case he'll run in 2028.

Dan's already got one thing going for him -- he's pretty damn rich. With an estimated net worth of $150 million, he says he plans to use half his money for his campaign and the other half for philanthropy.

He tells us he plans on giving it his all and thinks he has a pretty good chance of winning. Of course, he seems to think he'll have an even better shot if Kanye West isn't one of his opponents.

Pete Buttigieg says while his odds to the win the White House might be similar to Donald Trump's a year out from election day ... he's going about getting there with a full 180.

The South Bend Mayor spoke to us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" after news broke that he's the leading Democratic candidate in Iowa, according to a new poll ... not to mention that his chances at going the distance are eerily similar to DT's from this time 4 years ago.

He weighs in on both, telling us the new poll reflects what he's been feeling on the ground ... a connection to voters and a groundswell that just can't be stopped.

As for the Trump comparison, he says the only thing he wants to share with 45 is the final destination. That said, he does admit there are similarities in how folks perceived their campaigns early on -- namely, they were seen as odd men out despite later success.

Then, we got into what could become a problem ... how PB plans to deal with religious voters -- especially in the South -- who may view the fact he's gay as a dealbreaker.

California Governor Gavin Newsom says President Trump isn't going to bully the Golden State into doing what he wants -- even with threats that could put thousands of lives at risk.

The Gov. was on "TMZ Live" Tuesday with a fierce response to POTUS tweeting he might cut federal funding to help fight California's wildfires ... if Newsom didn't get his "act together" to stop the fires.

Newsom made it clear he's not about to bow because the reality is the Prez needs Cali more than it needs him. He says Trump likes to spew threats as "political theater," and also because he can't stand NOT getting his way in the most populous state.

As the Gov. put it, Trump's political pressure won't fly in Cali.

On a much lighter note, we also got Gov. Newsom -- who just might have the best gubernatorial hairline in America -- to talk about this year's CA Hall of Fame inductees ... who include George Lopez, RuPaul, Wolfgang Puck and the late Dr. Maya Angelou.

The ceremony goes down in Sacramento on December 10, and Newsom's honored to be inducting such a diverse group of talented people.

Pete Buttigieg is now the Democratic favorite in Iowa, but he might have even more good fortune based on how his odds stack up against Donald Trump's from 4 years ago.

According to USBookies.com, Mayor Pete is in a similar position to Donald Trump during the same time frame -- 1 year out from the 2016 election. Pete is sitting at a 6/1 chance to nab the Democratic nom, while Trump was 3/1 around this time in 2015. As for the Presidency -- Pete's odds are 12/1 and Trump was at 10/1. Pretty dang close, if you ask us.

The odds were set by gamblers betting on USBookies.com, BTW.

As for who's gonna take the big prize next November, Trump is still the odds-on favorite -- regardless of who runs against him -- at 6/5.

Back to Pete though ... the reason why it's interesting that he's got a bit of a Trump vibe (to his odds, that is) around the same time the guy did back then is because -- like DT -- Mayor Pete is very much viewed as a dark horse candidate.

Take into consideration that he is now the leading candidate out in Iowa as of Tuesday, and it makes ya wonder if he'll have the same success Trump himself had in the run-up to 2016.

Johnny Damon says players like Sean Doolittle and Steph Curry should NOT ditch The White House because of President Trump ... telling TMZ Sports it's the perfect time to make their voices heard with the leader of the free world!

Of course, it's become a major debate in sports ... with huge athletes boycotting celebratory visits to 1600 Penn. as a way to stick it to POTUS.

So, when we saw Damon, we spoke with the ex-Yankees superstar about some Washington Nationals players like Doolittle, Anthony Rendon and more deciding to sit out the trip last weekend ... and JD says that's the WRONG thing to do.

"That's one of the things you wanted to do when you won the World Series was go to The White House, regardless of what political affiliation you may or may not have," Damon told us outside Capitale in NYC.

"I think it's a great thing and if you do have an issue, that's the greatest time to talk about the issues that you see and try to make things work."

Damon says there's too much hate going around between both sides ... and refusing to talk it out isn't gonna make anything better.

"I'm glad the Nationals went there. I'm glad there was a great support for the president. I hope other teams elect to go in the future so they can talk about the issues that are bothering them."

As for those who DID go to The White House ... the visit looked, uh, interesting. Just ask Kurt Suzuki.

Dan Bilzerian says he's running for president in 2024 -- acknowledging he might just have to campaign against a fellow celeb in Kanye West ... who might have a better shot.

We got the playboy gambler Saturday at STAPLES Center -- where he caught the Logan Paul fight -- and asked about some of the craziest poker games he's been in and which players were involved. He says he's thrown down cards with Kevin Hart ... not Jay-Z though.

Our camera guy followed up by asking what Dan thought of Ye reaffirming his decision to make a run at The White House in a few years ... with a new name at that.

He says Kanye's better than Hillary Clinton, for sure -- seems he's not a fan of HC -- but then drops a bit of a bomb on us with an announcement of his own ... he wants to run himself.

It's unclear if he's kidding or not, but we'll take him at his word and count this as an official presidential proclamation -- DAN BILZERIAN FOR POTUS 2024. Time will tell, we suppose. Then comes an interesting question ... who gets President Trump's endorsement???

President Trump finally came to a sporting event where the fans didn't totally hate him -- or at least partially hate him -- and it only took a trip out to MAGA country to do it.

DT flew out to Tuscaloosa, Alabama Saturday to catch the Crimson Tide play the LSU Tigers at Bryant-Denny Stadium -- and when his presence was announced ... the crowd lost their minds, cheering on the Prez and giving him a resounding round of applause and standing O.

That's gotta feel nice for 45, considering he's kinda been getting s**tted on lately at public events like this, including on his own turf in Washington D.C. ... where he got booed.

Some members of the Nats crowd even chanted "Lock Him Up!" and even hung an "Impeach Trump" banner. There were, of course, some cheering too -- but mostly boos.

Ditto for the UFC event Trump attended just last week in Madison Square Garden, where he was booed and cheered alike -- with the bad reactions coming through just a tad louder. Trump wrote that he felt it was like a Trump rally, but the videos speak for themselves.

Fast-forward to Saturday ... and DT seems to be back in good company. BTW, DT won Alabama in the 2016 presidential election by about 30% or so. He got nearly 63% of the electoral votes at the time, while Hillary Clinton racked up just 34%. Alabama's traditionally votes red.

Kate Flannery realizes she probably brought a knife to a gun fight as far as challenging Sean Spicer on "Dancing with the Stars," but says all his Presidential support might alienate core 'DWTS' fans.

We spoke to the 'Office' star Wednesday on "TMZ Live" on the heels of her elimination, and asked why she thinks Spicer keeps getting through ... despite the judges giving him incredibly low scores.

Kate -- who had to bow out after dancing a jive - says Sean's obviously got the backing of President Trump ... which goes a long way in this country. Whether he deserves to be there or not is almost irrelevant --  as she notes, it's really a popularity contest.

She rightfully points out that she's got her own fanatic base herself, especially after her old 'Office' costar, Steve Carell, gave her a shout-out -- and adds that 'Office' fans have been more than supportive in her 'DWTS' bid.

But, when push came to shove ... the power of Trump was too great to overcome for Dunder Mifflinites. And, that's a shame for dance fans, according to Kate ... who says a bad dancer like Spicer winning, purely on fan votes, would hurt the show.

Donald Trump REALLY made the Nationals feel at home at the White House on Monday ... having his band welcome the team with their favorite song, "Baby Shark!"

The Nats adopted the adorable tune throughout their World Series run (it all stemmed from Gerardo Parra's walk-up song) ... and Trump made sure it was the first thing the team heard at their celebration ceremony.

Ya gotta hear the band play it ... it's an awesome rendition -- and the Nats just had to dance along on the White House stairs!!

As for the rest of the party at 1600 Penn., it went smooth for POTUS ... Nats catcher Kurt Suzuki said some words with a MAGA hat on -- while jokes about Max Scherzer's arm and impeachment drew some big laughs.

Trump also bragged about the attendance for the celebration ... calling the turnout record-setting.

Ryan Zimmerman then presented Trump with a No. 45 Nationals jersey ... before Nats manager Dave Martinez and the President clowned the umps for their controversial base-running call in Game 6.

The heroic dog that helped take down ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Syria will not be awarded the Medal of Honor.

Conan the Dog rose to fame when President Trump tweeted a picture of the K9 used in the special ops mission. He even retweeted a doctored photo of Conan being decorated with the Medal of Honor. And, the dog is going to The White House next week, so it seemed a medal was in the offing.

A Dept. of Defense spokesperson tells TMZ, animals are not eligible to receive hardware like the Medal of Honor. So, the only perk the pooch might get is something from McDonalds.

Trump said Conan was injured during the raid, but it doesn't seem like it was that bad, because she was back on active duty a day or so later.