Hart was presenting the first award of the night with Tiffany Haddish -- and set the tone early, saying, "You never know what's gonna happen at the VMAs. Beefs pop off, bad language, people run to the bathroom and send out crazy tweets. It’s basically like a typical day in the White House."

Then he dropped the hammer -- "In your face Trump, suck it!"

It didn't stop there -- he then put the NFL in the crosshairs.

"We are live coast to coast right now," Hart said ... "I'm looking at this like it's game day people. But do not worry, cause at this game you guys are allowed to kneel! You can do whatever the hell you want, 'cause there's no old white man that can stop you. Do it!"

The crowd in attendance at Radio City Music Hall in New York City met the jokes with cheers.

Hart is friends with a lot of big-time athletes -- including LeBron James, who's been publicly beefing with Trump since he took office.

In fact, LeBron recently went on CNN and said he believes Trump is using sports to divide America. Trump fired back on Twitter, calling LeBron James a dumb person.

Trump's supporters weren't laughing at Hart's jokes Monday night -- they came after the comic right away on Twitter.

"We won't be watching Kevin Hart's TKO any longer. He was racist at a awards show & so disrespectful to the President & ALL white men. I bet 'white men' have hired him for movies & CBS TV show? Hateful language will go down the toilet with his TV show."

Another viewer wrote, "@KevinHart4real I was a fan now you make me sick."

The most hilarious attack we found -- "Dear Kevin Hart, please punch yourself in the nuts repeatedly, and then climb your wife giant and cry into her meat pillows. Louder does not equal funnier. Quit trying to force your jokes through with volume. I did like you in the leprechaun movies though."

There were more anti-Trump statements at the VMAs -- rapper Logic brought a bunch of young immigrants up onstage during his performance of "One Day" while wearing a shirt that read, "F*ck the wall."

Ryan Tedder, who performed the song with Logic, grabbed the mic and told the audience, "Bring us your tired, your poor, and any immigrant who seeks refuge. Together, we can build not just a better country, but a world that is destined to be united."

As for Trump himself, so far no reaction from POTUS -- but stay tuned and watch his Twitter feed. We're sure it's just a matter of time.

Other big moments at the VMAs included Colombian singer Maluma kissing his female backup dancer at the end of his performance ... despite the fact he's supposedly dating a Guess model!

Maluma has been famously dating Natalia Barulich for several months. They last posted a photo together on July 25. Didn't seem like they had broken up until Maluma open-mouth kissed his backup dancer live onstage during the finale of his performance!

We spoke with Natalia after the show (she was in L.A.) and she told us the kiss is NOT a deal-breaker. In fact, she claims she encouraged Maluma to kiss the other woman because they thought it would help make an "unforgettable performance."