White House

Andy Reid says he's FOR SURE going to Donald Trump's White House to celebrate the Chiefs' Super Bowl win ... calling the trip "quite an honor."

The head coach was asked about the possible visit after KC's 31-20 win over the 49ers ... and Reid didn't mince words expressing his desire to make the trip with his team.

"I mean, I'll be there," Reid said. "If they're inviting us, I'll be there. It's quite an honor."

Of course, it's unclear how many members of Reid's team will make the visit with him ... White House celebrations for championships have become polarizing, to say the least.

Star players throughout various sports teams have skipped out on the invite over the past 3 years ... with SEVERAL key players from previous Super Bowls missing the trip.

In fact, whole teams like the Golden State Warriors and Toronto Raptors have bypassed the visit altogether.

But others, like the LSU Tigers football team just a few weeks ago, have made the visit and have raved about it.

If the 49ers win the Super Bowl, don't expect to see Richard Sherman celebrating at the White House.

The NFL star was asked Thursday if he would go to D.C. to meet Donald Trump, as several championship teams have done in the past ... and Sherman essentially shot that down.

"I haven’t thought about it. We’ve got a long way between now and then, but I doubt it," Sherman told SF Chronicle's Scott Ostler.

As with most large groups of people these days, it's fair to assume not everyone on the team feels the same way Sherman does ... especially since his star teammate, Nick Bosa, is a proud Trump supporter.

First, the 49ers have to win the Super Bowl -- and the Kansas City Chiefs are obviously gonna try to not let that happen. That game goes down Sunday, Feb. 2.

The White House honor has become a VERY politically charged event now -- with star players from various sports boycotting including Chris Long, Torrey Smith, Mookie Betts, Alex Cora and the entire Golden State Warriors team.

Pete Buttigieg is back where it all started -- the exact place he hinted he had his eyes on The White House -- but this time around he's no longer a starry-eyed, long shot mayor ... he's not even a mayor at all!

Mayor Candidate Pete spoke Thursday at the U.S. Conference of Mayors' annual winter meeting in Washington D.C. ... exactly one year after he announced he was launching a 2020 exploratory committee at the same event.

Though he wouldn't officially announce his presidential campaign until April, he made it clear at the 2019 conference his sights were set on The White House ... and spelled out exactly why he thinks he's the right guy for the job.

Flash forward to today -- we asked Buttigieg to recap the past 365 days and he tells us it's "hard to believe" ... including his early retirement as the mayor of South Bend, Indiana.

Pete stepped down from the role and passed the torch to his successor, James Mueller, on New Year's Day, so he can focus on the tough race ahead for the Democratic nomination.

LSU Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron says the team's trip to the White House was a PHENOMENAL experience ... telling TMZ Sports POTUS is an awesome host!!!

The national champs spent the day at 1600 Penn in Washington D.C. ... and there was a ton of action -- #45 joking about being impeached, players doing the "Get The Gat" challenge, and Coach O's name getting butchered during introductions.

We spoke with coach out in the nation's capital about the visit ... and he couldn't have been happier about how it went down.

"It was phenomenal. President Trump was a gracious host, spent a lot of time with us," Orgeron said.

"[He's] very knowledgeable about football. It was one of the best experiences we've ever had. What a great experience for our football team."

O says he and his wife even got a personal tour of the White House!!!

"I felt really good about being at the White House ... Everything was A+ today."

We also spoke with some of the players, and they backed up O's review, saying the trip was "amazing!"

Some of the guys also had a message for Clemson ... and you're gonna wanna check that out!!!

"They got a good one now, even though they're trying to impeach the son of a bitch, can you believe that??"

President Trump was in a playful mood about the ongoing impeachment trial while hosting the LSU Tigers on Friday ... joking about the process and saying America's in good hands.

POTUS was cracking jokes left and right while praising the Tigers for their title ... with Ed Orgeron's voice, Ja'Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson and Joe Burrow on the receiving end of his quips.

Trump made sure he got some of his own bragging in before celebrating the Tigers' successful season ... praising the stock market.

"We just had another all-time high for our stock market just hit. So, that will be 149 times in the past 3 years. That's not bad. Coach, that's good, right?"

Of course, Trump eventually got back to football ... praising players like Burrow, Jefferson and Chase, who POTUS questioned whether he could beat in a race.

Trump also mentioned the infamous Clemson White House visit last season ... saying the team ate so much of his fast-food buffet, "we didn't know what the hell to do."

Cardi B's idea of turning to politics shouldn't be written off as a pipe dream, 'cause the girl's got what it takes to connect with the people ... so says Omarosa.

We talked to O about Cardi's recent musings about jumping into the public service arena, and she actually told us CB's got all the right ingredients to become a successful politician -- namely, she brings authenticity, passion, energy and real-life struggles to the table.

Omarosa says that's what voters look for in their leaders, and she thinks Cardi's perfectly suited to give 'em what they want. And, besides that, O says the public is screaming for a shakeup these days in their politics -- just take a look at who they voted for as POTUS.

Joe Burrow and Co. will be takin' their championship celebration to the nation's capital ... 'cause the LSU Tigers are scheduled to visit President Donald Trump at the White House!!

The Tigers handled Clemson in a 42-25 win in the natty on Monday ... which POTUS attended and received a massive ovation prior to kickoff.

Now, Ed Orgeron's team will be returning the favor by hitting up 1600 Penn on Friday to be recognized by the prez.

It's been one helluva season for the Tigers -- they went 15-0 and some are considering it one of the most dominant seasons in college football history.

Burrow -- who won the Heisman Trophy -- has previously talked about Trump hitting up their games earlier this season (for the big matchup against Alabama) ... saying it's "pretty cool" regardless of political views.

Of course, college champs -- unlike some pro teams -- have jumped on the opportunity to visit the White House in recent years ... including last year's Clemson team, who got hooked up with junk food due to the government shutdown.

No word on if Trump will improve the menu this time around ... but Burrow passionately hates Skyline Chili, so maybe don't serve that.

President Trump signed and delivered the 2 articles of impeachment against him ... to a guy who duped 45 into a very valuable autograph, which he's trying to hawk for big cash.

The Prez held a rally last month up in Battle Creek, MI and at one point, he apparently signed a paper handed to him by someone in the crowd. That signature, as it turns out, was scrawled on a copy of the House of Representatives' impeachment document.

We're told the guy who snagged the autograph printed out the report the day before the House formally voted to accuse POTUS of high crimes.

Now, this fella's partnered up with Goldin Auctions ... which we're told is expecting to get anywhere from $50k to $100k, with an opening bid of $4k. It's up for grabs on their site from Jan. 20 through Feb. 22.

It's funny ... a similar item featuring Trump's John Hancock made its way to the auction block last month -- an unwittingly signed copy of Trump's Oath of Office from a Pennsylvania rally.

D.L. Hughley is throwing his hands up in disgust at the American electorate, because he begrudgingly admits Cardi B could win office if she's serious about politics.

It's no secret the comedian isn't a fan of President Trump and told us the fact America elected a "game show host for a president" is proof knowledge and experience in politics no longer matter at all to the public. Translation: the door's wide open for Cardi.

Just because he believes it, doesn't mean he's happy about it -- D.L. points out several other professions where you'd NEVER hire someone with zero experience ... yet, voters seem willing to put anyone in high public office.

Cardi's been touting Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Democratic race, and he's surged ahead in the Iowa polls -- so, we asked Hughley if a Sanders-Almanzar ticket would be out of the question.

Cardi B could be headed to the White House one day -- but first, she might try her hand at local government ... or perhaps, something in the middle.

The rapper tweeted Sunday what seemed to be a pretty serious idea of hers ... "I think I want to be a politician. I really love government even tho I don't agree with Goverment [sic]."

She followed up with an explainer, saying ... "No matter how many weapons a country have you need people! How are you trying to go against a country and possibly start a war when this country lacks patriotism? I barely see people claiming they LOVE being American."

Seems Cardi's talking about the U.S.-Iran conflict here. She finished by saying there's more she has to say on the subject and acknowledged she would have to do it later in a video. Unclear if that means Iran specifically, or politics in general. Stay tuned ...

President Trump just did something you might never have expected him to do -- tweet in another language ... and that language happens to be aimed at the people of Iran.

DT took to Twitter Saturday with a message to the folks protesting in Tehran right now, decrying their government recently shooting down a Ukraine International Airlines plane by mistake ... and killing over 150 passengers, many of whom were Canadian citizens.

The Prez wrote, "به مردم شجاع و رنج کشیده ایران: من از ابتدای دوره ریاست جمهوریم با شما ایستاده‌ام و دولت من همچنان با شما خواهد ایستاد. ما اعتراضات شما را از نزدیک دنبال می کنیم. شجاعت شما الهام بخش است."

We know what you might be thinking if you're a native English speaker ... THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN?!? Not to worry, 'cause 45 sent out an accompanying translation. En ingles, it means ... "To the brave, long-suffering people of Iran: I've stood with you since the beginning of my Presidency, and my Administration will continue to stand with you." He adds, "We are following your protests closely, and are inspired by your courage."

He wasn't done with the Farsi ... Trump followed up by tweeting the above message, which translates, "The government of Iran must allow human rights groups to monitor and report facts from the ground on the ongoing protests by the Iranian people. There can not be another massacre of peaceful protesters, nor an internet shutdown. The world is watching."

Don't worry ... we Google Translated it ourselves, and it looks like Donnie got it right here.

If you haven't seen the protests on the ground in Tehran yet, they're pretty crazy -- with thousands taking to the streets and demanding the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei resign after Iranian officials admitted they shot the Flight 752 in error ... mistaking it for a threat, this amid rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran after Soleimani's death.

Some folks were even reportedly chanting "Death to liars" during the demonstrations, in their own language of course.

The United States conflict with Iran has had Americans freaked the f**k out lately -- and, accordingly, they've been looking far and wide to burrow themselves underground.

TMZ spoke with some of the best bunker retailers in the biz, and wouldn't you know it ... they say their sales and window shoppers have gone through the roof over the past week or so as missiles and nuke threats have been flying back and forth in the Middle East.

Let's start with Rising S -- which hawks pretty pricey shelters, ranging from $45k to a whopping $1 million. They tell us bunkers have been selling like hotcakes since Trump took out Gen. Soleimani. RS says they've sold 17 bomb shelters since then. A recent uptick of 150%.

Iran has already given a taste of its promised retaliation against the U.S. for killing one of its top military generals -- and it seems more and more threats are pouring in by the day.

For starters, a U.S. government website for the Federal Depository Library Program appeared to have been hacked Saturday by folks claiming to be working on behalf of Iran. They posted a photo-shopped pic of Trump getting punched by an Iranian fist, leaving him bloodied.

The hackers also left an ominous message on the page ... "Hacked By Iran Cyber Security Group HackerS ... This is only a small part of Iran's cyber ability! We're always ready."

Colin Kaepernick has some thoughts on the United States taking out a top Iranian officer with a drone strike ... calling it classic American imperialism via our military.

The ex-NFL quarterback posted some scathing remarks Saturday about the international move that's got everyone here at home worried about a so-called World War III -- and he didn't hold back in criticizing it to the max, likening it to an attack on people of color.

Colin wrote on Twitter, "There is nothing new about American terrorist attacks against Black and Brown people for the expansion of American imperialism." He didn't stop there.

CK adds the perceived escalation of tensions has been resorted to in the U.S.A.'s playbook time and again. He says, "America has always sanctioned and besieged Black and Brown bodies both at home and abroad. America militarism is the weapon wielded by American imperialism, to enforce its policing and plundering of the non white world."

Trump's order to kill Qasem Soleimani has gotten mixed reactions -- with some calling it necessary and imminent, as the guy is said to have been responsible for taking American lives while waging destructive and deadly tactics there in the Middle East and elsewhere.

Others say Donald Trump's administration acted in haste by signing off on the strike, not considering the ramifications and the possibility of war. Congress hasn't even been formally briefed yet.