White House

Kanye West's Presidential campaign was a total bust -- and cost him serious points in his marriage -- but that doesn't mean he's not keeping his political friends close ... dining with Jared Kushner in Miami.

Ye donned a neon hoodie, as he met up with Kushner -- the former Senior Advisor to President Trump, and of course, his son-in-law -- for a dinner meeting at Carbone in Miami Beach.

Unclear what the two discussed, but they've had ties in the past ... Jared also played a big role in getting Kim Kardashian to the White House to speak about her prison reform efforts with then-President Trump.

Of course, Kanye has openly supported Trump in the past and got folks talking when he wore a red MAGA hat. He recently said his wearing the hat caused issues with him and Kim.

Kanye's been back and forth between NYC and Miami this week, but his new boo Julia Fox was nowhere to be seen during the rendezvous with Kushner.

The Oregon man who blurted out to President Biden, "Let's go Brandon," has tried to clarify his remark, saying he was joking, but he's clearly not apologizing.

Jared Schmeck was on a call with the Prez and First Lady on XMAS Eve, and it was super cordial ... even jokey. The 35-year-old, former Medford cop talked with J&J about Christmas presents for his kids and other non-controversial stuff. At the end of the call, Schmeck says with clear intent, "Let's go Brandon," code for "f*** Joe Biden."

Biden weirdly repeated the phrase and then at least made it appear the insult rolled off his back, as he continued to wish Schmeck a Merry Christmas.

As for regrets ... not even a few. Schmeck says he meant no disrespect, but telling the Oregonian, “At the end of the day, I have nothing against Mr. Biden, but I am frustrated because I think he can be doing a better job."

If there's any question as to whether Schmeck meant it ... well, he posted the vid on his YouTube page.

Schmeck says he stands "100% behind what I did and what I said." He told the Oregonian he's not a Trumper but thinks Biden's way off base when it comes to federal vaccine mandates. He's also pissed off over inflation.

President Biden heard what his haters have been saying in code for months now -- a "f*** you" jab that one guy had the gall to say right to POTUS' face, on Christmas Eve no less.

JB and the First Lady were making calls to military families and their kids Friday from all over the country ... talking Christmas, presents, wish lists and of course, Santa Claus. In fact, 46 and the missus were using the trusty NORAD Santa tracker to help in their discussions.

During one of the calls ... a father hopped on, and wished the Bidens a Merry Christmas. All seemed fine until his last words before hanging up ... as he clearly said, "Let's go Brandon."

Joe and Dr. Biden didn't seem to understand what it really meant, especially Joe -- who actually repeated it word for word himself and added, "I agree." Both even chuckled upon hearing it, which doesn't make sense on its face ... y'know, since it's super derogatory.

You probably know by now ... the phrase "Let's go Brandon" has become a joke in conservative circles. It actually means "F*** Joe Biden" ... and got flipped into 'LGB' because of a reporter's attempt to cover up what a NASCAR crowd was chanting during a live shot.

Even though the guy who unintentionally spurred the meme, Brandon Brown, has said he's not a fan of it at all ... that hasn't stopped lots of people from adopting it and using it in several different settings ... like on the intercom of an airplane, for example.

Some have called this a slur, and highly disrespectful -- but in light of Donald Trump receiving similar treatment from his own opposition throughout his presidency, others say it's fair game.

It's very much out with the old and in with the new, as President Biden's dog Major is getting the boot from the White House ... and several biting incidents followed by failed training attempts to fix the pup seem to be the catalyst.

The White House just announced POTUS' German Shepherd will "live in a quieter environment with family friends" ... with the Bidens making the move after consulting with dog trainers, animal behaviorists and veterinarians.

You'll recall ... Major was involved in 2 biting incidents at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. ... with the first one in March getting him and his late pal, Champ, sent back to Delaware.

Major eventually returned from the dog house, but there was another biting incident at the White House only days after his return ... resulting in a new trainer and some extra dog handlers.

As we reported ... Joe and Jill have a new puppy at The White House, a new German Shepherd puppy named Commander, arrived as an early Christmas present.

Christmas came early for President Biden -- the guy has a new four-legged addition to his family ... and he's showing off his present at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

First Lady Jill Biden's press secretary confirmed Monday ... yes, the Bidens have a new dog in their midst, a German Shepherd puppy named Commander. Shortly after the news broke, the Prez took to Twitter himself and gave official word with a sweet shot.

He tagged his pic with "Welcome to the White House, Commander" ... showing off the cute little guy running through some grass with a ball in his mouth.

Joe posted a video, too, that featured Commander ... and he seems to be making himself at home already.

Word of a new pooch in the Biden brood started percolating when folks saw Commander here running across the South Lawn. According to reports ... he's a gift to the Prez from his own family, one they apparently couldn't keep hidden until this weekend.

The dog is a welcome sight, we're sure, for 46 and Dr. Biden ... who just lost their first beloved Shepherd, Champ, back in June at the age of 13. They have another GS, Major, that's still kicking -- but he's been a bit of a bad boy lately with his chompers.

Here's hoping Commander is better behaved. Oh, and BTW, the pets could well keep rolling into the front doors of the WH in the near future. The First Lady said earlier this year they'd be getting a cat soon.

The United States will not send an official delegation to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, President Joe Biden and the White House announced Monday.

The decision to withdraw from the Olympic games is a statement against China's "ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.

The Biden administration told reporters in November that they were "considering" a diplomatic boycott of the '22 Beijing Olympics ... and after allegations of forced labor and human rights abuses in China's western region of Xinjiang continued, #46 put his foot down.

Psaki said at a White House briefing Monday that Biden was sending a "clear message" that the U.S. will not tolerate the alleged human rights abuses in China ... adding that things cannot be "business as usual" there.

The move from the White House is a deviation from the norm ... it's tradition for the U.S. and other nations to send high-profile delegates to represent their respective countries at the games. Biden's wife, Jill Biden, participated in this past summer's Olympics in Tokyo.

As for U.S. athletes ... they'll still be allowed to compete in the Olympics -- and Psaki said they'll have the Biden administration's "full support." Psaki, though, said the administration would not be "contributing to the fanfare of the games."

President Biden resumed what had been paused for a good while in D.C. -- namely, POTUS being in attendance for the Kennedy Center Honors ... and hosting them afterward.

JB held a reception Sunday at the White House, with this year's recipients of the lifetime achievement award being in attendance, front and center. Among those who were honored -- Lorne Michaels, Bette Midler, Berry Gordy, Justino Diaz and Joni Mitchell.

There were a lot of other high profile people on hand as well -- including First Lady Jill Biden, VP Kamala Harris, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Steve Martin, David Letterman and others.

Biden -- who was suited and booted in a tux, delivered some remarks -- highlighting each person's contribution via their art -- going down the list one by one and singing their praises. He also shouted the late Stephen Sondheim, who recently passed away.

Each honoree showed off their rainbow-colored ribbons that were placed around their necks, and they each stood when called upon. The whole reception lasted a little less than half an hour -- but even so, it meant a lot to folks who hadn't seen this since 2016.

President Trump snubbed the ceremony for the first three years in office -- and never hosted any of the recipients after threats of a boycott came down in 2017, his first year in office

Donald Trump had tested positive for COVID-19 just days before meeting up with Joe Biden for their first presidential debate -- this according to his ex-Chief of Staff.

Mark Meadows makes the claim in a new book, 'The Chief's Chief,' describing how DT allegedly received a positive result on Sep. 26 ... 3 days before the Ohio debate. Meadows does say Trump took a second test which turned up negative, but that reportedly was an antigen test, which is not as reliable as the PCR test. The PCR test can detect COVID levels the antigen test can't.

Nonetheless ... Meadows says Trump was hell-bent on debating Biden, saying, "Nothing was going to stop [Trump] from going out there."

It's a shocking revelation. Apparently, Trump was symptomatic with a positive PCR test, which means he should have quarantined for 10 days, but he did the opposite.

He held a Rose Garden ceremony to introduce his last Supreme Court nominee -- Amy Coney Barrett -- to the public. Meadows says Trump was already showing symptoms but the president went to the event maskless. Not surprisingly, it turned out to be a super spreader event.

He also had a ceremony for Gold Star families at The White House ... again, he did not wear a mask even though he had COVID, at least according to Meadows.

The way Meadows describes it ... Trump was about to head to a rally in PA, when Meadows received a call from his doc, telling them to halt everything since POTUS had just tested positive. Meadows says he informed Trump, and the guy apparently had a colorful response.

MM writes Trump's answer "rhyme[d] with ‘Oh spit, you’ve gotta be trucking lidding me."

As if it weren't bad enough, Trump arrived at the debate late ... too late to be tested, and moderator Chris Wallace said at the time they were trusting Trump was negative based on the honor system.

Trump calls Meadows' description of events "fake news." He says he did not have COVID prior to or during the first debate. He cites a test proving he did not have COVID prior to the debate. That's not necessarily inconsistent with Meadows' account ... because even if he had a negative antigen test he still had a positive PCR test, according to MM.

If Meadows' account is true, there's no other way to cut it ... it's shockingly reckless, uncaring for others and, frankly, disgusting.

Pete Buttigieg insists he's not sure about getting back on the campaign trail -- possibly running for POTUS again in 2024 -- but he's not completely shutting the door either.

The former presidential hopeful, and current Sec. of Transportation, joined us Monday on "TMZ Live" and we asked him about the buzz around the Beltway about him making a second run for the White House.

Right now, Buttigieg says he's not feeling like there's anything inspiring him to run, because he's plenty busy trying to make an impact in his current job -- which includes allocating a good chunk of the $1 trillion infrastructure deal.

Pete made a push for the White House in 2020 before Joe Biden won the Democratic nomination and eventually the general election. While some people seem to think Mr. Secretary's gearing up for a second bite of the campaign trail, PB says he doesn't see any need for it. Not now, at least.

Aside from his political plate, Pete's also got his hands full being a parent with husband Chasten, and you can tell he loves being a dad to twins ... a boy and a girl.

The White House is fully decked out for Christmas ... and it goes way beyond the official tree.

The East and West Wings were adorned with Xmas trees, ornaments and various other holiday decorations.

Now, check this out ... there's a photo attached to one of the trees just like an ornament, featuring President Joe and Jill Biden. AND ... there's another pic of Biden's predecessor -- yes, Donald Trump -- on another tree.

The theme -- "Gifts from the heart" ... although the overriding theme seems to be "kindness" ... there are ribbons displaying that message in both Wings.

There was a gingerbread White House front and center in the State Dining Room ... kinda awesome.

As you may know ... The National Xmas Tree was lit last week ... a tree costing $139,000.

President Biden's first National Christmas Tree Lighting is going to be more lively than Donald Trump's last one ... but bringing back a live audience is gonna cost taxpayers a bundle.

According to federal docs, obtained by TMZ, the National Park Service shelled out $139,000 to a company in Ohio to locate, transport and transplant this year's National Christmas Tree just outside the White House.

The feds got a jump on their holiday shopping, signing the tree contract back in September. BTW, the last pre-pandemic National Tree, in 2019, set us back just over $160k -- so, the government actually can spend less!!! Talk about Christmas miracles.

After a virtual tree lighting ceremony in 2020 during the height of the pandemic, it looks like things are getting back to normal with a live audience this year ... and that means another big bill.

The docs show the National Park Service dropped an additional $171,000 on "event support" for the 2021 National Christmas Tree Lighting Festivities.

The official ceremony and lighting is set for Dec. 2 ... and LL Cool J is hosting, with holiday music from Billy Porter, Chris Stapleton, H.E.R., Juanes, Keb' Mo', Kristin Chenoweth, Maren Morris, and Patti LaBelle.

On a smaller scale, the White House also spent $41k on holiday decorations for the Eisenhower building and Jackson Place.

President Joe Biden says the United States is "considering" a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Olympics ... as a result of China's human rights abuse issues.

It's tradition for the U.S. and other nations to send high-profile delegates to represent their respective countries at the Games -- Biden's wife, Jill Biden, participated in this past summer's Olympics in Tokyo.

But, as concerns continue to grow over China's human rights issues ... many across both sides of the political aisle have petitioned the Biden administration to boycott the upcoming Olympic Games in Beijing.

Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas addressed the situation on Wednesday ... saying, "I call on the Biden Administration to mount a complete and total boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics -- no athletes, no administration officials, no corporate sponsors."

Even the Celtics' Enes Kanter -- an outspoken critic of #46 -- challenged Biden to maintain his campaign promise and "prioritize human rights" before he met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

While hosting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the Oval Office on Thursday, POTUS wouldn't go as far as to say a total boycott was something the U.S. was considering ... but a diplomatic boycott is on the table.

If Biden and the White House were to engage in a diplomatic boycott, it would mean the U.S. would not send an official government delegation to the Games ... but athletes would still be able to participate.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks are in the nation's capital to visit with President Joe Biden at the White House on Monday ... and naturally, the MVP's got his championship ring with him!!

The 2021 champs will become the first NBA team to visit 1600 Penn since Barack Obama hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 ... with the Golden State Warriors, Toronto Raptors and Los Angeles Lakers passing on the opportunity.

Of course, the Warriors and Raps both publicly shut down visiting Donald Trump, while the Lakers didn't visit due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Giannis and Co. look ready for a day of fun with Biden ... with the team smiling and enjoying themselves before making their way to the White House in a matter of minutes.

Giannis even showed off his big ring to our camera guy ... and you can tell he's still loving the new bling.

Biden hosted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers earlier this year ... and it was Tom Brady who ran away with the silly jokes that time around.

The Bucks' ceremony is set to go down at 11:50 AM PT ... and we'll be streaming the whole thing.

Colin Powell is getting a poignant sendoff at Washington's National Cathedral ... with former Presidents and other political power players coming through to pay their respects.

So far we've seen President Biden and former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush at the memorial service ... plus a pair of former Secretaries of State in Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice, and former Vice President Dick Cheney.

Powell had a decorated military career before becoming Secretary of State in 2001 under Prez Bush.

As you can see, everyone in attendance is wearing a face mask, and not only, we're sure, because Dr. Anthony Fauci is there.

Even folks from outside the politics and the military are there honoring Powell -- baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. is there.

Interestingly, former President Bill Clinton is not at the service. Most likely because he was recently hospitalized for a UTI that spread to his bloodstream.

President Biden's press secretary, Jen Psaki, says she's come down with COVID-19 ... but is away from POTUS and has been for several days now.

Psaki revealed Sunday that she'd tested positive for the virus -- this after multiple days of testing negative upon learning people in her household had caught it. She was supposed to hit Europe with JB, but scrapped those plans after learning her family members were sick.

The Press Secretary also notes she was last in contact with Biden on Tuesday ... just before he flew to Rome, where he's currently at for the G20 summit. She notes they were standing at least six feet apart then, and were also wearing masks.

Psaki says, "I am disclosing today's positive test out of an abundance of transparency," adding ... "Thanks to the vaccine, I have only experienced mild symptoms which has enabled me to continue working from home."

She goes on to explain she'll return to the WH after a full 10-day quarantine period, and obviously after a negative test is once again registered.

A Southwest Airlines pilot allegedly parroted what has become a rallying cry on the far-right -- an insult to President Biden that's been coded as a cheer to somebody named Brandon.

The incident reportedly happened Friday on a Southwest flight from Houston to Albuquerque, where AP journo Colleen Long claims that upon touch-down -- the pilot hopped on the speaker for the plane and said "Let's go Brandon" just as he was signing off.

Long reports that some passengers were noticeably shocked, and even gasped when they heard it. She apparently tried confronting the pilot himself for what he said ... but alleges she was almost tossed the aircraft for doing so.

A Southwest spokesperson told AP that their airline "takes pride in providing a welcoming, comfortable, and respectful environment" and that "behavior from any individual that is divisive or offensive is not condoned." It's unclear if any further action will be taken.

Folks online are furious over the alleged utterance ... demanding Southwest find the pilot and can him for hurling politically motivated rhetoric -- and what some are even calling a slur.

If you're unfamiliar with how this originated, it all started a couple months ago when racecar driver Brandon Brown won a NASCAR event. During his post-race interview with NBC -- you could hear people in the crowd chanting "F*** Joe Biden," which the reporter tried brushing off as "Let's go Brandon" ... even though what they were saying was obvious and clear.