White House

President Trump is pretty stoked to be at the Daytona 500 --  so much so, in fact, he might even get behind the wheel himself and zoom off into the night. Settle down, Donnie.

45's down in Florida right now taking in the annual NASCAR race with the First Lady, Melania, and while talking to a FOX Sports reporter, he made it clear he wants to drive again. It's funny and actually kinda interesting ... DT can't really do that anymore, huh?

In a somewhat rambling response, Trump calls Daytona "the great American race," going on to say he stopped by because he sees it as "almost a patriotism kind of thing." Well said!

Trump also gave a shout-out to the drivers, saying it takes great courage to drive in such a beast of a vehicle. Sounds like he wants to take one for a spin, actually -- joking he might hop in one himself and "get in this race." He won't, obviously, but imagine if he did 😅.

Another humorous moment during POTUS's Daytona day out -- he made sure to point out where exactly God is to the people listening to his opening remarks to kick off the event.

Pete Buttigieg is firing back at Rush Limbaugh's homophobic remarks with poise and class -- and interestingly enough ... he's got Steve Bannon supporting him here.

Mayor Pete went on CNN Sunday to talk about the campaign, Nevada, polls and attracting voters of color -- but he was also given the opportunity to respond to the conservative radio host's recent controversial POV ... that Trump would easily defeat a gay opponent.

PB was pretty measured, but also firm. He says he loves his husband, Chasten, and doesn't care who knows it. More importantly, he won't take family advice from someone like Rush -- who says Pete seems to enjoy making a show out of kissing a man on stage.

Pete corrects the record there as well -- telling Dana Bash he usually just hugs Chasten.

As we've reported ... DT himself has actually taken the opposite stance, saying he doesn't think Pete being gay would affect voters all that much -- and certainly shouldn't hurt his electability.

Welp, as it turns out ... Trump's old campaign pal, Steve Bannon, feels the exact same way. We got him out in NYC as he was leaving the FOX News studio and asked him about it. You gotta watch this for yourself because Steve is incredibly strong in his statement to us.

Barack Obama says the loss of Kobe Bryant and his daughter hit extra-close to home because he himself, as a father, has been a champion of his own kids in and out of sports.

44 spoke Saturday at a brunch hosted by the NBA for All-Star weekend, and while talking to a room full of journalists ... BO said he knew Kobe's death was still fresh on the minds of several people in the NBA family -- and rightly so, as he too seemed stunned by it.

In a video posted by CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Barack says ... "That loss is something that I know many are still grappling with -- particularly, Kobe because he was with his daughter and those families and those children. And, those of us who have had the joy and privilege of being parents, and taking our kids to ball games, and rooting for our children and then seeing our dreams and hopes passed on to them ... nothing is more heartbreaking."

He goes on to offer his and Michelle's condolences to the NBA family, not just over Kobe but also for former NBA commissioner David Stern -- who died of a stroke earlier this year.

At the time of Kobe's death, Obama remembered him with kind words too ... writing, "Kobe was a legend on the court and just getting started in what would have been just as meaningful a second act. To lose Gianna is even more heartbreaking to us as parents. Michelle and I send love and prayers to Vanessa and the entire Bryant family on an unthinkable day."

Kobe was 41. His daughter, Gianna, was just 13.

Kansas City Chiefs starting corner Bashaud Breeland says he's ALL-IN on a Super Bowl celebration at the White House ... telling TMZ Sports he can't wait to make the trip!!

"Why would I not [go], man?!" Breeland says. "It's an experience that everybody, every kid would want to go to."

Of course, White House visits have become VERY polarizing for players ever since Donald Trump took over 1600 Penn. Ave. ... with star players from various championship teams the past few years choosing not to go.

But, when we got Breeland out in NYC on Wednesday ... he told us he's pumped about the prospects of a White House field trip!!!

"I want to go see what the White House is like!" he said.

Breeland's coach with the Chiefs, Andy Reid, echoed the DB's sentiments after KC won the Super Bowl earlier this month ... telling reporters at the time, "It's quite an honor."

Joe Biden called a young female voter a "lying, dog-faced pony soldier" -- a line he's used before and has credited to a John Wayne movie ... which may or may not be accurate.

Biden was campaigning in New Hampshire Sunday, and while at a town hall event where he fielded questions from the crowd, one gal got on the mic and asked something pretty profound ... with his poor performance in Iowa, why should Joe be considered a top dog.

It was a great question from a prospective Biden voter, and right away ... Joe jokingly insulted her by suggesting she was lying. Check out the video, Biden asks the girl if she's ever caucused before. She says yes, but he calls her a liar with the alleged John Wayne line.

We should note ... it doesn't seem Biden was being serious. He said it jokingly and it came off as good-natured. BUT, folks were quick to point out ... it sounded somewhat inappropriate.

What's even crazier is that Joe has used this line before, and explained it in an interview as a line ol' JW used in a movie he saw once. Problem is ... nobody can pinpoint that flick.

It might be because the line Joe thinks was in the unnamed Wayne movie is probably actually from a 1952 Tyrone Power film called "Pony Soldier," which uses that phrase throughout. The whole movie's on YouTube, but we couldn't find this exact pony remark, if you will.

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."