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I almost couldn’t believe my eyes on Wednesday when Nicki Minaj declared her undying support for President Donald Trump at his Accounts Summit in Washington, D.C. — emphasis on almost.
After Trump introduced Minaj as “the most successful female rapper in history” who also “makes a lot of cash,” she strolled onstage to praise the president and his rollout of Trump Accounts, described as tax-advantaged investment accounts for newly U.S.-born babies.
Seemingly unbothered by backlash, the “Trollz” rapper made it clear she stands firmly by her controversial allegiance, as she told the crowd, “The hate, or what people have to say, it does not affect me at all. It actually motivates me to support him more. And it’s going to motivate all of us to support him more.”
“We’re not going to let them get away with bullying him,” Minaj added, aiming at Trump’s critics while noting he has God and “a lot of force behind him.”
Perhaps that so-called force is why Minaj has gotten so comfortable cozying up to Trump and his administration lately. Since Wednesday, theories have run rampant online, as fans and critics alike struggle to understand how Minaj — a former LGBTQ+ ally who immigrated to the U.S. as a child and once condemned Trump’s zero-tolerance immigration policy — has rebranded herself as one of his loudest supporters.
Some speculate that the rapper has aligned herself with Trump in hopes of seeking pardons for her husband and brother, both convicted of sex crimes. Others point to her immigration status after she posted a photo of Trump’s “Gold Card,” which provides fast-tracked U.S. citizenship, according to Forbes.
Minaj addressed the speculation on X, mocking critics by writing, “Residency? Residency? The cope is coping. Finalizing that citizenship paperwork as we speak as per MY wonderful, gracious, charming President.”
“Thanks to the petition,” she continued alongside an image of horror character Chucky holding up a middle finger, adding, “Gold Trump card free of charge.”
As outlined by Trump, the Gold Card facilitates “the entry of aliens who have demonstrated their ability and desire to advance the interests of the United States by voluntarily providing a significant financial gift to the Nation.” Sure, this could just be a coincidence, but the president said Minaj is investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in his accounts (between $150,000 and $300,000, according to CNBC), so there could be some truth to folks’ speculation.
Whatever her motivation, Minaj has made her allegiance to Trump unmistakable. The truth of the matter is, the rapper’s crossover into MAGA land was inevitable if you’ve paid attention to any of her recent moves with the far-right.
The rapper’s public descent seemed to officially begin in November after she personally thanked Trump for speaking out about the persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
“We live in a country where we can freely worship God,” she wrote in an X post. “No group should ever be persecuted for practicing their religion … Numerous countries all around the world are being affected by this horror & it’s dangerous to pretend we don’t notice.”
She added: “Thank you to The President & his team for taking this seriously. God bless every persecuted Christian.”
Later that month, Minaj faced heavy backlash for speaking at a United Nations event — an appearance reportedly arranged by Trump’s adviser, Alex Bruesewitz — to warn of what she called “extremism” against Christians in Nigeria.
“I would like to thank President Trump for prioritizing this issue and for his leadership on the global stage in calling for urgent action to defend Christians in Nigeria, to combat extremism and to bring a stop to violence against those who simply want to exercise their natural right to freedom of religion or belief,” she claimed in her remarks.
She continued, alleging, “Today, faith is under attack in way too many places. In Nigeria, Christians are being targeted, driven from their homes and killed. Churches have been burned, families have been torn apart, and entire communities live in fear constantly simply because of how they pray.”
Around the same time, Minaj also reposted an official White House TikTok video — set to one of her songs — bragging about Trump’s first-year “achievements,” which noted “no men in women’s sports,” “border is closed” and “criminal illegals are being deported.”
All of this culminated in Minaj’s surprise appearance at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest in December, where she sat beside CEO Erika Kirk and echoed right-wing, anti-trans rhetoric such as, “Boys, be boys.”
“There’s nothing wrong with being a boy,” Minaj said. “How about that? How powerful is that? How profound is that?”
Following her conservative coming-out, Minaj shut down her Instagram account, though she remains active on X, where she’s shared numerous photos and videos from her appearance at the Accounts Summit.
All of these antics are only recent signs of Minaj’s conservative transformation, but the shift itself goes back much further, by at least a decade. In a 2015 interview with Billboard, the rapper didn’t offer much critique of Trump when asked if she had an opinion about his presidential campaign.
“There are points he has made that may not have been so horrible if his approach wasn’t so childish,” Minaj said plainly. “But in terms of entertainment — I think he’s hilarious. I wish they could just film him running for president. That’s the ultimate reality show.”
Although she’d soon grow to be a Trump critic, repeatedly slamming his immigration views, even once on her remix of Rae Sremmurd’s “Black Beatles” — “Island girl, Donald Trump want me go home” — Minaj’s political stance seemingly changed during the pandemic after she spouted unfounded claims about COVID-19 vaccines on social media.
“My cousin in Trinidad won’t get the vaccine cuz his friend got it & became impotent. His testicles became swollen,” she claimed in an X post, which several experts debunked.
In 2023, Minaj doubled down on her vaccine skepticism — which she shares with Trump and fellow right-wingers — in an interview with Vogue, where she also briefly spoke on politics, though was careful not to attach herself to any particular party.
“Every time I talk about politics, people get mad,” the rapper said. “I’m sorry, but I am not going to be told who I should get on social media and campaign for. There’s a lot we don’t know that’s going on in the government, and I don’t think it changes whether you lean to the left or right.”
These days, however, Minaj has leaned decisively to the right. It’s not entirely surprising, given how her erratic online behavior echoes Trump’s own digital theatrics and authoritarian mindset — where any criticism is treated as a personal attack, keeping her in a constant state of defensiveness. In the process, Minaj has alienated much of the queer fanbase that once fiercely supported her, particularly through her use of homophobic language during public spats.
Just this month, Minaj got into it with former celebrity.land anchor Don Lemon on social media after the latter covered an anti-ICE protest at a Minnesota church (Lemon was arrested on Friday in connection with his coverage of the protest). The rapper hurled a homophobic slur at the independent journalist before later defending it in an X post that reads: “LOL!!! And I purposely wrote it that way b/c I knew that would be the only way to get the c–k suckas to post about it. They would’ve all collectively ignored the despicable behavior displayed by Lemon head.”
There’s no excusing Minaj’s MAGA embrace after how publicly — and proudly — she has positioned herself beside Trump. She’s become a willing mouthpiece for the right’s ideology and shows no signs of slowing down.
It’s disheartening to see the once-revered hip-hop icon squander the reputation she built opening doors for women in rap. Today, Minaj is less defined by her music and more by paranoia, internet beefs and, now, controversial political alliances.
Even if Minaj has the gall to back-pedal on her current stance years from now and take out a full-page Wall Street Journal ad to issue an apology like her old collaborator Kanye West, it wouldn’t be nearly enough to undo all the damage she’s caused to her reputation.
Like she told the crowd on Wednesday, “I am probably the president’s No. 1 fan, and that’s not going to change.” Sadly, neither will the consensus around her eroding legacy.
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