White House

President Trump had a strong message for Americans who are flocking to their local grocery stores and clearing the shelves in a frenzy -- take a chill pill, yo ... please and thanks.

DT and his coronavirus team -- including Pence -- hit up the Press Room Sunday for an update on the global pandemic ... which is spreading by the day here in the States. Trump started with good news for Wall Street ... federal interest rates were just cut to 0%-0.25%!

He then hopscotched to a discrepancy that Google cleared up about a website they're launching for coronavirus related information -- something Trump alluded earlier last week, but which was fact-checked as Google's parent company, Alphabet, handling it.

Google eventually came out and backed Trump -- whom people criticized for spreading, at first, seemingly incomplete info -- and DT hit that point home at the podium.

He did a mic drop of sorts ... you can watch for yourself.

Anyway, then came the directive from POTUS himself straight to the American people ... many of whom are panic buying and stockpiling supplies right now ... while leaving the shopper behind them high and dry. Trump says he's spoken to a bunch of grocery store CEOs ... and they asked him to deliver a message -- STOP BUYING STUFF YOU DON'T NEED!!!

Donald had his own way of putting it, but you get the picture. He says stores will remain open during these crazy times and they'll continuously try to keep restocking products.

Donald Trump finally, if not belatedly, took a coronavirus test ... but he can't shake the habit of shaking hands.

Trump took the podium Saturday in the White House Press Room and announced he took the test Friday night. Thing is ... he says he took it NOT to find out if he has the virus but because the media has been on his butt to take the test. He says the results should come in soon -- a couple days -- but he took his temperature today and he's not running a fever.

A reporter asked him about sending "mixed messages" by still shaking hands -- something he did a lot Friday at a Rose Garden news conference. It's a little hard to follow, because on the one hand he says he never liked shaking hands and resisted it, and on the other hand he says it's a hard habit to break.

As for taking the test, 3 people who were at the same function as Trump a week or so ago have tested positive for the virus.

Oprah's longtime partner, Stedman Graham, says Barack Obama owes his presidency to O -- so she's got political clout, but she's not about to be a running mate for either Democratic candidate.

We got Stedman in our nation's capital Tuesday afternoon and asked if Oprah should hop on the ticket with Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders -- now that lots of folks are clamoring for the old, white men to choose a minority woman as veep.

That's when Stedman dropped his Obama bombshell. He says Oprah's the main reason Barack was elected Prez in 2008 -- but he also makes it clear, she's got no public office aspirations of her own.

Sure, Oprah endorsed Obama back in the day, but Stedman says that doesn't mean she's political. We asked him if a personal call from Barack would change her mind, though .. and he gave us some insider VP scoop.

Bottom line -- the Dems might wanna look elsewhere. Stedman says Oprah's already found a calling with way more impact than what she could do in DC.

Pete Buttigieg still has big plans for his political future, but for now, he's down to chill out and catch up on sleep ... until he tries his hand as a late-night TV talk show host.

The ex-presidential candidate says his campaign was just the beginning for him, and even though he dropped out of the race he's still hoping to make himself useful down the line ... which we already know means backing Joe Biden to take on Donald Trump.

For now, though, Pete says he's enjoying the slower pace of life off the campaign trail and will be doing some R, R & R ... resting, recuperating and reflecting.

Buttigieg obviously can't relax for too long -- he's set to guest host Thursday on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and says he'd also love to pop in on "Saturday Night Live."

Rosie O'Donnell's taking her presidential support for Elizabeth Warren and putting it behind Joe Biden -- like it or not -- because she feels he's the best person still in the race who can send Donald Trump packing.

It's not necessarily a ringing endorsement ... nevertheless, we got Rosie outside the Belasco Theatre in NYC Thursday night, and she tells us she's "all in" for Biden now.

She believes the Democrats must and will come together to win in November, something she says the country desperately needs. In case it's not clear -- she thinks Trump's the absolute worst ... and America deserves better.

As for why Biden and not Bernie Sanders ... Rosie believes Bernie has a ceiling and he's already hit it, and he'll eventually join the Democratic force too.

Andrew Yang's still got his eye on the White House ... because he'd be stoked to be Joe Biden's vice president.

The former presidential hopeful joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday and we asked if he'd say yes to an offer to be Biden's running mate if Joe's the nominee. Andrew tells us he'd jump at the chance, and thinks he could bring a lot to the table.

The way Andrew sees it, he could help Biden in some areas where he could be lacking ... namely, appealing to younger voters. Andrew says the Yang Gang makes him feel young, even at 45. It could work on Biden too.

Remember ... Andrew had the most fun of any candidate on the campaign trail, hanging with Donald Glover and doling out whipped cream shots to kneeling supporters.

Andrew tells us he's still considering a run for mayor of New York City -- he wants a high-impact executive role somewhere -- but he knows being Veep gives him the best chance to make the country stronger.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez believes in her heart of hearts Bernie Sanders is the guy to beat Trump -- that said ... she'll support Joe Biden if he's the one who takes on Trump.

We got the Congresswoman in D.C. Wednesday -- after Biden cleaned up on Super Tuesday -- and asked her straight-up ... will she support the guy if he wins the Democratic nomination come July, despite being a Sanders supporter and seemingly immovable.

Watch ... AOC says she would, but might need to hold her nose a little. Fact is ... she says she'll always support the party, but notes JB is a thing of the past -- and Bernie is the future.

For her it's pretty simple -- AOC says Bernie's message and platform is very clear and resonates with working-class people. Meanwhile, Biden's platform seems to just be ... beat Trump? That's not good enough for her, and she thinks many feel the same.

It's Super Tuesday, when much of America chooses who they want to go up against President Trump, and Hollywood's making sure to get in its 2 cents.

Celebs also made sure to lock in their selfies -- along with their ballots -- as Americans across 14 states hit voting booths. On the national stage it's all about the Democratic Party primaries with former VP Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Michael Bloomberg still in the running. There are a few others technically in the running, but with little chance to nab the nomination.

In any case, check out the famous faces who exercised their right to vote. We got stars like Tyra Banks, Melissa McCarthy, Eric Andre, Ali Wong, Camila Cabello, Tracee Ellis Ross, Wilmer Valderrama, Kerry Washington, Ronda Rousey, Topher Grace, Laura Dern and many more.

Some of 'em wore their candidates right on their sleeves -- like Marissa Ross with her Bernie "Rage Against the Machine" tee -- but most kept their votes private.

Hillary Clinton is at our doorstep once again -- but she's still sitting on a fence politically ... not quite ready to endorse Joe Biden, and per usual, taking shots at Bernie Sanders.

The former Secretary of State walked into the ABC Studios Tuesday in NYC, where she was set to plug the new Hulu doc about her life, "Hillary," while also talking shop on a day folks in 14 states are voting in their respective Democratic primaries. No endorsements, though.

HC was asked why she hadn't gotten behind Biden yet, as so many others did on Monday night -- including several ex-candidates like Buttigieg, Klobuchar and O'Rourke.

She says it's still early in the game, and it sounds like she's waiting to see who the country ultimately picks before offering her support. FWIW, Barack hasn't endorsed anyone either.

As for her old friend Senator Sanders ... still no love lost there. Hillary says she thinks it's BS he wants to tweak the convention rules about super delegates and give the nomination to the candidate who walks in with the most votes day of. He settled for the opposite in 2016.

In her doc, she says Bernie got nothing done in Congress and that nobody liked him or wanted to work with him.

Michael Bloomberg's successful career in business would almost certainly translate to success in the White House ... so says Barbara Corcoran.

The "Shark Tank" star spoke to us Monday on "TMZ Live" and told us exactly why she thinks Bloomberg's incredible rise in the marketplace proves he's got the chops to lead the country. Watch ... she says guys like him are well-versed to be deft decision-makers.

Perhaps more importantly ... Barbara says Bloomberg knows how to solve problems.

One of the other notable things BC likes about MB ... the guy built his empire in an honest way, coming from nothing and amassing a 60-plus billion-dollar fortune. Barb says that's more than some politicians in office today can say -- *cough* Trump *cough,* perhaps?

Of course, Bloomberg's facing challenges along the campaign trail -- the biggest seems to be his past controversial comments about stop-and-frisk, which dog him to this day.

Public Enemy is moving forward without one of its original (and more memorable) founders -- the one and only Flavor Flav is out ... this after a big argument over a Bernie Sanders rally.

The legendary hip-hop group permanently fired their longtime member Sunday night, saying ... "Public Enemy and Public Enemy Radio will be moving forward without Flavor Flav." They continued, "We thank him for his years of service and wish him well."

The ax comes after Flav fired off a cease-and-desist letter to the Sanders campaign last week, accusing them of using FF's image and likeness in a scheduled performance Chuck D and the rest of the guys had planned to put on in support of Bernie out here in L.A.

The writing was clearly on the wall from the get-go -- Bernie and co. announced they were having Public Enemy Radio perform at their rally ... which confused some folks.

That group is an off-shoot of the OG Public Enemy, and they do shows without Flav, which they've apparently been doing for a little while on and off. Fact is ... Flav and Chuck haven't been cool for years -- ever since FF sued the group over profits he claimed he was owed.

As for this final salvo ... Chuck went on Twitter and wrote, "last final note the last final note was my last straw was long ago. It’s not about BERNIE with Flav... he don’t know the difference between BarrySanders or BernieSanders he don’t know either."

No love lost between old friends, it seems.

Pete Buttigieg is throwing in the towel in his bid for the presidency -- he's reportedly set to suspend his campaign ahead of Super Tuesday.

According to reports, the former South Bend mayor is dropping out after performing poorly on Saturday during the South Carolina primary ... where he came in at a distant fourth, only racking up about 8% of the vote which was largely made up of African-Americans.

Pete won the Iowa Caucus by a thin margin, but has largely underperformed in the races after that. So far, he's got 26 delegates to his name -- while Biden now has 53 and Bernie Sanders (the proverbial so-called front-runner) has amassed 60 to himself.

Elizabeth Warren has just 8 delegates, and Amy Klobuchar has only 7 -- no signs yet of either of them cutting bait ... it's interesting PB called uncle first, seeing how the big contest was around the corner. On Tuesday, a whopping 1,357 pledged delegates are up for grabs.

The Democratic nominee needs only 1,991 of those pledged delegates to claim victory.

Part of the problem for Pete thus far has been his inability to win over black voters, or voters of color in general. He made lots of efforts to do so, but in the end ... they just weren't with him. Of course, he was also battling homophobia within the party as well.

Pete was the first openly gay major presidential candidate to make a run at the White House. There've been others before him, but he was the first with a legitimate shot. He was also the youngest candidate in the race -- coming in 38 years old, while everyone else remaining is well over 50 and beyond.

Buttigieg was becoming a favorite among moderate voters in the Democratic Party -- being seen as a more stable option than someone like Sanders. Biden fits that bill too though ... it'll be interesting to see if he picks up Pete as a running mate in the weeks to come.

Michael Bloomberg's controversial past with minorities and people of color isn't going away -- that much is clear by the striking protest he received during an event in Selma.

The billionaire media mogul and ex-NYC Mayor was among the many Democratic candidates in Alabama this weekend to commemorate the 55th anniversary of Bloody Sunday -- when hundreds of civil rights marchers were brutally beaten by cops during a demonstration.

At this particular service at the Brown Chapel AME Church -- where Bloomberg and Joe Biden delivered remarks -- a handful of people stood up and turned their backs when Mike stepped to the podium. It was done in silence, and they sat down when he finished.

The pastor who intro'd him, Reverend Leodis Strong, said he thought it was important for MB to show and to speak ... and for people to hear him out on how he's changed. Clearly, not everyone felt that way.

Of course, Bloomberg has come under fire for old comments he made about the policy he adopted when he was in power -- namely, unchecked and blatantly racist implementation of stop-and-frisk by the NYPD. At first, Bloomberg said it was effective to deter crime.

Later, he scaled it back and eventually apologized for his words. Apparently, some folks aren't accepting his apology. It should be noted, more people didn't protest than those who did.

Bloomberg's looking to rake in delegates for the first time on Tuesday -- when several states will hold primaries and offer up a third of the needed share to claim victory.