White House

Bernie Sanders is on the go all the time -- which seems to have given him a momentary case of a campaign brain fart as he accidentally boarded the wrong jet.

The Democratic front-runner was spotted Saturday making his way off of a private Gulfstream between campaign stops in South Carolina and Massachusetts -- the latter being where he held a rally at Boston Common ahead of Super Tuesday.

Fact is ... the S.C. primary looks like it's gonna go to Joe Biden, as he's well ahead of everyone else in the latest polls. Looks like Bernie's cutting his losses and moving on.

As for this little mix-up here, it's kinda funny. Bernie's been flying all over the country for different campaign events -- so the guy's definitely busy and has a preoccupied mind at the moment. Mistakes like this (getting on the wrong Gulfstream) are bound to happen.

Some have criticized Sanders for flying private at all -- seeing how he rails against billionaires and elites. In fact, earlier this month ... he was spotted boarding a private aircraft while Liz Warren got on her own jet as they both flew back to D.C. from different locations just 36 minutes apart. The implication ... they coulda flown together, spared the air, etc.

Down in South Carolina, someone alleged he had as many as three Gulfstreams to himself to get somewhere just a couple hours away. Unclear if that's true, but here's something to keep in mind.

Tom Steyer tried one last Hail Mary to gain traction in the South Carolina Primary -- bringing up Juvenile at a campaign rally ... and shaking what his momma gave him.

The billionaire Democratic candidate held one final event Friday night in Columbia before voters went to the booth the next day, and it seems he was trying to appeal to a younger (or older perhaps) demographic ... 'cause he invited Juvenile and DJ Jazzy Jeff onstage.

What happened next is quite a sight ... in a good way, of course. Tom and some of the other staffers attempted to get down to "Back That Azz Up," Juvenile's smash hit. It was ... interesting, to say the least. Yeah, let's call it that -- a good old college try in other words.

We'll give Tommy and co. this much ... they definitely go all-in on the poor dancing, cringe and all. And hey, ya can't really blame the guy -- this is kinda his last realistic chance at staying in this thing. Especially in light of him getting thrashed earlier last week by his key opponent in the race ... ex-Vice President Joe Biden, who's banking on a big win.

ICYMI ... Joe shut Steyer down during Tuesday's latest Democratic debate in the Lowcountry -- basically telling him to pipe down when TS tried chirping up and interrupting the Veep.

Travis Kelce says he CAN'T WAIT to celebrate his Super Bowl victory at the White House -- telling TMZ Sports he WILL join his KC Chiefs teammates when they meet President Trump.

"Oh, yeah! Always, man!" Kelce told us in NYC on Wednesday. "Crazy opportunity!"

Not everyone on the team feels the same way ... Chiefs stud defensive end Frank Clark told the Kansas City Star he's got "mixed emotions" about the White House trip.

"I know historically ... that’s something you do as a Super Bowl champion. But we’ll see, man. It’s a lot of mixed emotions about stuff going on there. We’ll see."

Head coach Andy Reid is a firm "yes" -- telling reporters at the Super Bowl, "I mean, I’ll be there. I'll be there. If they’re inviting us, I’ll be there. It’s quite an honor, I think."

Ditto for Tyreek Hill -- who said, "That would be great to go to the White House. I’ve never been to D.C., so that would be great."

Starting CB Bashaud Breeland just told us a few days ago he's pumped for the celebration as well.

As for Trump, earlier this month he told reported he's excited to host the Chiefs -- "Every one of them wants to be here. And the coach loves us. The coach is great. Andy Reid."

There's been a ton of controversy surrounding the White House visits over the past few years -- with several high profile players -- and even full teams -- boycotting the tradition.

The Golden State Warriors famously blew off Trump after winning the NBA title in 2017 and 2018 -- instead opting to celebrate with President Obama.

MLB stars like Mookie Betts and Nationals closer Sean Doolittle have also turned down White House invites.

We asked Kelce how the rest of his teammates are feeling about the visit ... but he told us he hasn't had the chance to speak with them yet.

Andrew Gillum's not hung up on the "electability" of Bernie Sanders or other democratic candidates for Prez, because he thinks it'll work itself out ... but he's NOT down with signing on as VP with any of them.

We got the former candidate for Florida governor Tuesday at LAX ... and he says he trusts the process of our nation's voting system in choosing the right person to go against Donald Trump.

As he puts it ... voters aren't casting their ballot for a candidate they think is going to lose the presidential race.

So, we ask Andrew how he'd feel about getting involved in the race himself -- as the Dem's candidate for Vice President -- and he shoots it down ... saying he's trying to help everyone on his side.

Check it out, though ... Gillum's got a compelling reason for declining the honor of Veep ... but he doesn't QUITE say it's completely out of the question.

In fact, as far as hypotheticals go ... he admits it's a doozy.

Clint Eastwood is doing a flip-flip of sorts ... endorsing former NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg instead of President Trump -- whom he supported in the run-up to the 2016 election.

Dirty Harry gave his thoughts on this year's candidates to the WSJ, saying on this year's competition ... "The best thing we can do is just get Mike Bloomberg in there." Clint doesn't appear to elaborate beyond that, but did have something to say about DT.

CE says he wants Trump to act "in a more genteel way, without tweeting and calling people names." He adds, "I would personally like for him to not bring himself to that level."

What's interesting, of course, is that Clint -- a well-known Libertarian -- said he'd have to choose Trump over Hillary if it came down to it, back in August 2016 ... and while it wasn't an official endorsement, it was clear where his allegiance was during that cycle.

Now, he's backing a Dem -- who used to be a Republican for a while, BTW -- although it's unclear why. Funny enough, Bloomberg has tried positioning himself as a solid establishment Democrat, who'd further Barack Obama's policies and follow in 44's footsteps.

Of course, Clint skewered Obama at the 2012 Republican National Convention when Mitt Romney was selected as the party's nominee, talking to an empty chair on stage during his speech that he likened to BO's presidency at the time ... empty (in his eyes, anyway).

President Trump might be going to bat for Bernie Sanders in public -- but behind closed doors in L.A. ... he mocked the Vermont Senator as a "crazy" socialist he can easily beat.

DT was in the City of Angels Tuesday for what's been reported as a series of fundraisers and talks about the 2028 Olympics, which are set to take place in L.A. After arriving in town, Trump held a private dinner for donors at the Montage hotel in Beverly Hills.

Eyewitnesses tell us about 300 people attended -- folks like Lindsey Graham, Steve Wynn, Jared Kushner and other GOP bigwigs -- and some of the food served included steak, fish, chicken, salad and dessert.

Anyway, we're told by someone present ... the Prez took a decent amount of time to call out Sen. Sanders by name, calling him "Crazy Bernie" and even openly saying he hopes he wins the Democratic nomination, 'cause Trump professed he could beat in a general election.

That's interesting, of course, because 45 has been tweeting about Bernie a lot lately -- suggesting the DNC is trying to "steal" the nomination from him like in 2016. Turns out, it appears it's because Trump really, REALLY thinks Bernie's a tire fire candidate.

We're told he kept the topic going, joking Bernie wants to give free education and stuff to everyone ... wondering if a Harvard education and Rolls-Royce cars were in store for "illegals" under his vision. Funny enough, Bernie was asked about Trump's support the same night.

BTW, Hillary and Mike Bloomberg were also mentioned during this get-together. Go figure.

On the HC front, Trump just said he'd only spent about 25% of what she did in 2016, and still beat her. For Mike -- whom he's been mercilessly mocking on Twitter -- DT didn't spend a lot of time on him ... just mentioning the guy's wealth and how much he's spending to try to beat him.

Bloomberg has already spent hundreds of millions on ads -- the guy's worth upwards of $60 billion. Other topics covered at the dinner -- terrorism, anecdotes from 2016, etc.

President Donald Trump just held a surprise media event at the White House to announce he's pardoning former SF 49ers owner Edward DeBartolo Jr..

Now, some back story ...

Back in the late '90s, DeBartolo -- who owned the 9ers at the time -- pled guilty to his role in a riverboat gambling scandal.

Long story short ... DeBartolo claimed he was being extorted by ex-Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards -- who demanded $400,000 in cash to get the last riverboat casino license offered up by the state.

In 1998, DeBartolo was found guilty of failing to report the transaction -- a felony -- and was sentenced to 2 years probation and ordered to pay $1 million in fines and other costs.

In 1999, DeBartolo gave up his stake of the 49ers.

Unclear why Trump decided to pardon 73-year-old DeBartolo on Tuesday -- the White House said a press release will be issued soon.

Jerry Rice and Jim Brown were at the White House for the announcement and praised Trump for the move.

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.