White House

Joe Biden's pardoned a bunch of folks during his presidency, and as it turns out -- one of his own ancestors was granted mercy by none other than Abraham Lincoln way back when.

WaPo dug up old documents in the National Archives which show that POTUS's great-great-grandfather, Moses J. Robinette, received a pardon by Honest Abe back in the mid-1860s ... this after he got into a fight with a fellow Union Army worker that landed him in jail.

Here's what happened, per ancient history ... Moses was working as a civilian veterinary surgeon for the U.S. Army during the Civil War -- and while he was stationed at the Army of the Potomac's winter camp in Spring 1864, he got into a brawl with another fella.

Long story short ... John J. Alexander -- a brigade wagon master -- apparently overheard Joe's grandad talking s*** about him to the female cook in one of the tents, and he confronted him on the spot -- which led to an argument and eventually a scuffle.

During the fight, Moses was accused of pulling his pocketknife and stabbing John -- as he was left bleeding from several cuts in the aftermath. Soon, authorities arrived to check in.

Moses ended up getting charged with attempted murder -- but during the trial ... that charge ended up being dropped --- although he was convicted on other charges, including assault, "inciting a dangerous quarrel" and "violating good order and military discipline."

A transcript of his trial quotes Moses as saying ... "[W]hatever I have done was done in self defence, that I had no malice towards Mr. Alexander before or since. He grabbed me and possibly might have injured me seriously had I not resorted to the means that I did."

He ended up getting convicted on all counts -- minus the attempted murder -- and he was sentenced to two years incarceration at hard labor. Once they finally figured out where to send him, Moses was shipped to the Dry Tortugas islands near Key West, FL.

Once he was there, other army officers who knew Moses wrote a letter in his defense -- and that worked its way up the channels and eventually landed on Lincoln's desk. He reviewed the case and decided Moses' punishment was way too harsh ... and pardoned him.

President Biden is showing serious signs of life and energy ... getting testy with reporters who tried grilling him on his memory loss and a damning special counsel report.

The highlight ... Biden telling Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy, "My memory is so bad I let you speak."

Biden's zinger came as POTUS took the podium in the White House press room Thursday for some rare remarks, fielding questions from journalists in the wake of a special prosecutor calling out his "faulty memory."

Biden had the old noodle working on this occasion, firing off zingers aimed at the media ... and verbally sparring with reporters from multiple outlets.

When Doocy started asking questions about the special counsel report, Biden got testy ... and, if we're being honest, channeled a bit of Donald Trump.

Biden mocked the special counsel, who in his report said JB won't be charged for his handling of classified information while out of office because 46 is a "well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory."

The Prez jokingly agreed, adding ... "I know what the hell I'm doing. I'm President and I put this country back on it's feet."

Asked directly how bad his memory is and if he can continue as President, Biden shot back at Doocy with his "memory so bad I let you speak" one-liner ... which has some serious meme potential.

Another reporter followed up by asking Biden if his memory has gotten worse ... with POTUS saying his memory is "fine" before listing off his legislative accomplishments.

The commander-in-chief also wasn't happy with the special counsel saying Biden couldn't remember when his son Beau died.

Biden's response ... "How in the hell dare he raise that. Frankly, when I was asked the question I thought to myself it wasn't any of their damn business."

Biden groused further ... "I don't need anyone to remind me when he passed away."

The special counsel says there's evidence Biden mishandled classified docs, but the prosecutor decided against charging Biden because he wasn't confident in a guilty verdict due to Biden's faulty memory and ability to make jurors sympathetic.

Don Lemon says Taylor Swift could put Donald Trump through a very cruel summer ... 'cause, if she wants to, he thinks she could swing the election in President Biden's favor.

We caught up with the former CNN anchor Friday at LAX where he warned MAGA supporters to keep an eye on just how involved the singer-songwriter opts to be during this presidential campaign.

Lemon says TS wields a ton of power and influence, and while she's not exactly his generation ... he gives her all the props for fighting for her catalog and becoming a self-made billionaire.

As we reported ... members of Trump's inner circle are reportedly ready to go to "holy war" with Taylor if she decides to endorse President Biden -- as she did in 2020 -- but Don thinks it will take more than one-liners to combat her impact on the election.

Translation: underestimating her could sink DT's White House dreams.

This all falls in line with what FOX11 political reporter/anchor Elex Michaelson said on "TMZ Live" earlier this week ... warning Trump's going toe-to-toe with Swift, and Swifties, is a risky strategy.

Although, he does see a scenario where Swift ends up helping both candidates -- basically, Trump could use a Taylor endorsement for Biden to blast Hollywood elitism, and mobilize his supporters to get out and vote.

There has been a vocal minority hating on T-Swift ... even celebs like Plies, who are getting tired of seeing her all over their TVs when they're watching a football game -- so it's not far-fetched to imagine that hate motivating Trump backers.

Taylor Swift has no chance of swaying the 2024 election -- this according to Congressman Tim Burchett ... though, a prominent dueling Representative says otherwise.

Rep. Burchett chopped it up with a photog in D.C. Wednesday -- where he said he doesn't care for a TS endorsement ... cause she lost him when she left country music, and he hasn't cared for her since. So, Swift's seal of approval means absolutely nada to him.

Tim's TS loathing doesn't end there ... he says her NFL influence may be significant with more people than ever tuning into the sport ... but he personally hasn't watched a game in years despite being the captain of his high school football team back in '87 ... so, in his mind, her influence can't be that big of a deal.

Basically, he tells the cameraman she's all talk cause she previously came out to speak against Tennessee's Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn ... and it didn't move the needle.

Tim adds that a celeb endorsement doesn't mean much in general ... all it does is just become a scenario where both teams think they've won by bringing in top dogs as backup.

So, that recent poll that showed 18% of voters were "more likely" to vote for a candidate endorsed by Tay? Tim's essentially pouring cold water on it ... saying it's total BS.

While Tim's adamant about his stance, former Tennessee Rep. Jim Cooper, who Taylor endorsed for House of Representatives in 2018, tells TMZ he's got it all wrong -- cause TS' endorsement is the best endorsement you can have -- period.

He says anyone who cares about Taylor having a voice in politics is jealous they didn't get her endorsement ... cause, at the end of the day, she's got a massive 29 million followers on her socials and can easily influence swing states that are really close in numbers.

Also, her fans are well and truly devoted ... meaning they're game for anything, he says.

Jim's a massive Taylor fan ... and says she's handled all politics-related matters with complete brilliance and wholesomeness, which is refreshing. He also can't resist touching on her Travis Kelce romance -- saying it plays out like a Hollywood movie.

Back to Tim though ... he goes on to talk about the current political climate ... expressing hopes more young voters will come out and vote because historically, they don't.

La industria de la música, la NFL, la economía de EE.UU., y ahora, ¿¡la Casa Blanca!? Según una nueva encuesta, Taylor Swift podría influir en las elecciones presidenciales de 2024.

La encuesta realizada por Redfield & Wilton Strategies, mostró que el 18% de los votantes dijeron que son "más propensos" o "significativamente probable" a votar por un candidato respaldado por Tay.

Los datos también mostraron que el 17% dijo que serían menos propenso a votar por un candidato que estuviera respaldado por Swift.

La encuesta fue tomada a principios de este mes y le preguntó a 1.500 votantes elegibles.

El 45% de los encuestados dijeron que eran fans de la cantante. La encuesta también mostró, como era de esperar, que Taylor atraería significativamente a los votantes jóvenes.

Con todo lo que ha logrado, la Persona del Año de Time tiene más alcance que nunca.

Cabe señalar que Swift se ha mantenido alejada de la política a lo largo de su carrera, por lo que aún se desconoce si la cantante anunciará su voto este año.

Sin embargo, ella sí apoyó al ex gobernador demócrata de Tennessee, Phil Bredesen, en una carrera por el Senado en 2018 y expresó públicamente su apoyo al ahora presidente Joe Biden en 2020.

The music industry, the NFL, the U.S. economy, and now ... The White House?!? According to a new poll, Taylor Swift could sway voters in the 2024 presidential election.

The poll, conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies, showed 18% of voters said they're "more likely" or "significantly likely" to vote for a candidate endorsed by Tay.

But the data also showed 17% said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate if they were backed by Swift.

The survey was taken earlier this month, and questioned 1,500 eligible voters.

45% of those questioned said they were fans of the singer. The poll also showed, unsurprisingly,  a Taylor endorsement would appeal significantly to young voters.

With all she's accomplished, the Time Person of the Year has more reach than ever before.

It should be noted, T-Swift has mostly steered clear of Politics throughout her career ... so it's still unknown if the singer will announce her vote this year.

However, she did endorse former Democratic Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen in a 2018 Senate race ... and publicly voiced her support for now-President Joe Biden in 2020.

Hunter Biden's causing chaos in Congress ... with Republicans and Democrats at each other's throats over a "white privilege" jab aimed at President Biden's son.

Hunter made a surprise appearance Wednesday on Capitol Hill, strolling into a hearing where lawmakers were starting the process of holding him in criminal contempt of Congress ... and his presence caused quite the stir.

South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace quickly took aim at Hunter, saying ... "You are the epitome of white privilege, coming into the Oversight Committee, spitting in our face, ignoring a Congressional subpoena to be deposed, what are you afraid of?

Nancy didn't stop there, adding ... "You have no balls to come up here."

Hunter sat quietly as chaos ensued with lawmakers yelling over one another before order was somewhat restored.

Soon after, Hunter left the room and the attention followed ... but the "white privilege" remark left a mark ... at least with Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who said it was a "spit in the face" as a Black woman. Jasmine ripped into Nancy and the GOP, saying if anyone is the epitome of white privilege it's them.

BTW, there was even more chaos once Hunter abruptly left the room ... he was being followed by a massive crush of reporters -- a couple of whom asked him about his prior drug use, particularly as it pertains to crack. Check it out ... it's absolutely wild.

Vivek Ramaswamy is hoping Jake Paul can deliver a knockout punch for him on the campaign trail ... which is why they're teaming up for a critical stretch in his bid for the GOP nomination.

The presidential primary season starts next Monday in Iowa ... and we're told Jake and Vivek will be side-by-side on Sunday as they travel around the state urging Gen-Zers to come out and vote.

Vivek's spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, tells TMZ ... "We're very excited Jake's joining on the campaign trail and we're hoping it can really drive out younger people."

She goes on to say that while Vivek is seeing a lot of enthusiasm from young voters, Jake's star power and ability to command a crowd is going to be a major asset on the eve of the Iowa caucus.

We're told the duo will travel in Vivek's private plane to events at 4 of the biggest universities in Iowa ... all as part of the "Commit to Caucus Rally."

Tricia says Vivek talked to Jake about joining the campaign trail a few weeks ago ... when he attended Jake's fight against Andre August in Florida. As we reported, Jake hooked up Vivek with ringside seats.

Make no mistake, Ramaswamy needs a big spark. Recent polls show he's well under 10 percent of likely Iowa GOP caucus voters ... but Vivek's campaign is adamant they're tapping into a group of voters that isn't accounted for in those polls.

Jill Biden isn't pumping the brakes on her SoulCycle obsession anytime soon -- surprising spin enthusiasts in L.A. by dropping into an early morning class for those much-needed endorphins.

Sources tell TMZ the First Lady's suited and booted Secret Service agents arrived first to the trendy cycling chain's 7 AM class in Brentwood earlier this month ... wanding down everyone and informing them a VIP would be in class.

Upon entering, Jill settled onto bike no. 42 -- at the back, right by the Secret Service team at the entrance ... just in case she needed to make a speedy escape.

There was no theme for this SC class, though we're told at one point they rode to Janet Jackson's "Escapade" ... and Jill was, noticeably, in great shape.

She even appeared to make a friend ... fist-bumping a boy riding in front of her at the end of class, but there were no photos due to SC's no-phones-in-studio policy.

Jill attended the class in the middle of a jam-packed weekend of fundraising events with President Biden -- probably hoping for some me-time, as she's previously credited the spin classes for helping her find her "inner strength so she can be strong for everyone else."

Jill Biden no está poniéndole freno a su obsesión con SoulCycle en el corto plazo, sorprendiendo a los entusiastas del spinning de Los Ángeles tras aparecer en una clase temprano para liberar esas tan necesarias endorfinas.

Fuentes le dicen a TMZ que los agentes del Servicio Secreto de la Primera Dama llegaron primero a la clase de la popular cadena de ciclismo a las 7 AM, en Brentwood a principios de este mes. Se dice que agitaron a todo el mundo y les informaron que una persona VIP estaría en la clase.

Al entrar, Jill se acomodó en la bicicleta número 42 -en la parte posterior-, justo al lado del equipo del Servicio Secreto en la entrada, por si necesitaba hacer una huida rápida.

No había un tema particular para esta clase de SoulCycle, aunque nos dicen que en un momento dado montaron al ritmo de "Escapade", de Janet Jackson, y Jill estaba notablemente en gran forma.

Incluso parece que hizo un amigo, tras chocar los puños con un niño que estaba montado delante de ella al final de la clase, pero no hay fotos de ellos, debido a la política de la cadena de no usar teléfonos en el estudio.

Jill asistió a la clase en medio de un ocupado fin de semana con eventos de recaudación con el Presidente Biden, probablemente con la esperanza de tener algo de tiempo para ella. Previamente, ha dicho que las clases de spin la ayudan a encontrar su "fuerza interior para ser fuerte para todos los demás."

President Biden is closing out the year on a one-on-one chat with the man upstairs -- and depending on where you land politically ... this could be interpreted a couple different ways.

Joe's down in the U.S. Virgin Islands right now with his family, where they touched down Wednesday in St. Croix ... and where JB here was seen visiting the Holy Cross Catholic Church in the city of Christiansted Saturday ... popping out with a wave and a smile.

He was being tailed by a ton of Secret Service agents, of course ... a few whom looked like they came straight from MIB headquarters. No sign of Jill or the other Bidens here with him -- although, they were right by his side when they landed last week on Air Force One.

On its face, this is just another holy Biden outing ... nothing all that crazy coming from a guy who's famously religious and who frequents churches quite a bit in his spare time.

Now, on the flip side ... some might see this as a sign that the dude's saying his prayers for a potentially rocky 2024 -- especially as the next presidential election starts to take shape.

So far, it's looking like Joe will face off with Donald Trump again -- that is, unless he isn't convicted and jailed first ... or if he's successfully kept off certain states' primary ballots, all of which remains to be seen at this point. Numbers-wise, DT is far and away the GOP fave.

As for JB and how he's faring in the polls ... it ain't that great -- as there doesn't seem to be too much enthusiasm about a second Biden term, even among people in his own party.

Uncle Joe's had a bit of an up-and-down presidency 3 years in, but the one thing he's got going for him is that he's ... not being prosecuted, on a number of fronts. Still, POTUS has some fires to put out with his base if he's gonna win 'em over come election day in Nov.

Don Lemon says the most detrimental presidential candidate Americans could elect isn't Donald Trump ... but rather Nikki Haley.

The former CNN host joined us Friday on "TMZ Live," and said he thinks there's good reason to sound an alarm on Haley's campaign ... saying she's a more dangerous candidate than Trump.

Don says it's a case of the devil you know versus the devil you don't ... calling out Haley for being unclear on her views, flip-flopping on Trump's insurrection and ripping her track record on abortion and racism.

The way Don sees it ... we've already survived one Trump presidency, and Haley presents a new set of unknowns that might end up being worse than anything Trump ever did.

It's another shot at Haley from Don ... as we reported, he blasted her on social media Thursday for leaving slavery out of her answer on the cause of the Civil War.

Haley's apologized and asked for grace, something Don says is hypocritical.

Remember, Don and Nikki had beef when he was at CNN ... he called her past her prime, and says she showed him no grace for his poor choice of words ... which he's said was just a prime case of misspeaking on live television.

Don's speaking out on political issues for the first time since leaving his post at CNN ... and he says he can finally speak his mind about all candidates, including Republicans.

While he says he doesn't want Trump back in office, and Haley might be worse ... he tells us why Chris Christie is earning his respect, even though he disagrees with most of his policies.

Don Lemon dice que el candidato presidencial más perjudicial que los estadounidenses podrían elegir no es Donald Trump, sino más bien Nikki Haley.

El ex presentador de CNN se unió a nosotros el viernes en "TMZ Live" y nos dijo que hay buenas razones para hacer sonar las alarmas con la campaña de Haley, diciendo que ella es una candidata más peligrosa que Trump

Don dice que es un caso de diablo conocido a diablo por conocer, y critica a Haley por no ser claro respecto a sus puntos de vista, por cambiar de opinión sobre la insurrección de Trump y por su historial sobre el aborto y el racismo.

Desde la perspectiva de Don, ya sobrevivimos a una presidencia de Trump y Haley presenta un nuevo conjunto de incógnitas que podrían terminar siendo peor que cualquier cosa que Trump haya hecho.

Este es otro tiro de Don hacia Haley, como informamos, el presentador la atacó en las redes el jueves por dejar la esclavitud fuera de su respuesta sobre la causa de la Guerra Civil.

Haley se disculpó y pidió comprensión, algo que Don considera hipócrita.

Recuerden, Don y Nikki tuvieron problemas cuando él estaba en CNN. Don le dijo que había pasado su mejor momento.

Don está hablando sobre temas políticos por primera vez desde que dejó su puesto en CNN. Dice que finalmente puede decir lo que piensa de los candidatos, incluidos los republicanos.

Aunque dice que no quiere Trump de nuevo en el cargo, y que Haley podría ser peor, nos explica por qué Chris Christie se está ganando su respeto, a pesar de que no está de acuerdo con la mayoría de sus políticas.

¡¡¡¡Barack Obama acaba de compartir su lista de reproducción anual de fin de año y muchos piensan que está abordando el estado de la nación al elegir la última colaboración de Beyoncé y Kendrick Lamar!!!!

El expresidente promocionó la canción de Bey y Kendrick, "America Has a Problem (Remix)" entre sus canciones favoritas de 2023, un jugueteo políticamente cargado donde las dos megaestrellas hacen referencias sutiles a la violencia y las drogas en los EE.UU.

Kendrick se unió a la remezcla en mayo después de que la leyenda apareciera en el mega álbum de Beyoncé "Renaissance" el año pasado. Ambos actuaron juntos también en septiembre para su gira Renaissance Tour.

Es interesante que BO incluso haya arrojado luz sobre la pista, dado que el presidente Biden, vicepresidente de Obama, está actualmente dirigiendo el país. Los excompañeros de fórmula siguen siendo amigos y Obama ha apoyado enfáticamente a Biden.

Barack Obama just dropped his annual year-end playlist and many think he is addressing the state of the union with his pick of Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar's latest collab!!!

The former prez touted Bey and Kendrick's song, "America Has a Problem (Remix)" among his fav tracks of 2023 ... a politically charged romp where the two megastars make subtle references to the violence and drugs in the U.S.

Kendrick hopped on the remix back in May after the OG appeared on Beyoncé's mega album "Renaissance" last year ... and they performed together in September on her Renaissance Tour.

It's interesting that BO would even shed light on the track, given the fact President Biden -- Obama's Veep -- is currently running the country. The former running mates remain pals, and Obama's emphatically endorsed Biden.

1:58 PM PT -- John nos dice que no pretendía hacer daño con su tuit, diciendo: "¿En serio, amigos? No dije tal cosa. A pesar de los titulares que afirman lo contrario, absolutamente no llamé a un acto de violencia ni amenacé a un presidente de Estados Unidos".

La estrella de "The Dukes of Hazzard" John Schneider probablemente tendrá una visita del Servicio Secreto en un futuro próximo, ya que acaba de hacer una amenaza de muerte en las redes sociales contra el presidente Biden.

El actor, conocido por interpretar a Bo Duke en la icónica serie de televisión, publicó el tuit el miércoles, afirmando que tanto Biden como su hijo, Hunter Biden, "deberían ser colgados públicamente". El post completo de John decía: "Señor Presidente, creo que usted es culpable de traición y debería ser colgado públicamente. Su hijo también. ¿Su respuesta es...? Atentamente, John Schneider".

La amenaza de John ha sido borrada desde entonces y fue una respuesta directa al post de Biden sobre Donald Trump, en el que criticaba al ex mandatario acusado.

A juzgar por su tuit, John piensa que Biden es culpable de traición también.

Curiosamente, el miércoles, el mismo día que hizo la amenaza, fue un día bastante agitado para John. También fue revelado como la celebridad secreta que se escondía detrás del disfraz de donut en el programa de competencia de FOX, "The Masked Singer".

La cuenta de John también tiene otras menciones donde se refiere a Biden y la traición y tiene otro post reciente en el que apunta al Dr. Anthony Fauci como "Traicionero".

Por lo tanto, parece que hay un tema aquí, pero se ha intensificado con las amenazas de muerte.