Nicki Minaj’s MAGA Makeover: How the Rapper Became a Trump Ally
Nicki Minaj, the Trinidadian-born rapper known for her chart-topping hits, has surprised many observers by publicly praising President Donald Trump and aligning herself with conservative figures. In December 2025, Minaj made a surprise appearance at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest in Arizona. She spoke onstage about her “utmost respect and admiration” for Trump and Vice President JD Vance, calling them “amazing role models.” Her remarks marked a notable shift from earlier points in her career when she criticized Trump’s policies. So, when did Minaj make the switch to being a Trump ally? Here’s what to know.
Nicki Minaj criticized Donald Trump from the early 2000s to 2018
Nicki Minaj has officially aligned herself with Donald Trump and the Republican Party, surprising many of her fans. Fifteen years prior, Minaj appeared in the MTV documentary My Time Now, following her roots in Trinidad and Tobago to her successful rap career. In the film, Minaj critiqued how men can act assertively and aggressively to advance in their careers, but women don’t have that luxury.
“You have to be a beast. That’s the only way they respect you,” Minaj said, according to a clip posted to YouTube. “… When I am assertive, I’m a b****. When a man is assertive, he’s a boss. He’s bossed up — no negative connotation behind bossed up. But lots of negative connotation behind being a b****.”
“Donald Trump can say ‘You’re fired.’ Let Martha Stewart run her company the same way and be the same way!” Minaj continued. “But Donald Trump, he gets to hang out with young [expletive] and have 50 different wives and just be cool. Oh, Donald, we love ya!”
In 2015, Minaj also answered a question about Trump while speaking to Billboard.
“There are points he has made that may not have been so horrible if his approach wasn’t so childish,” she said of his policies. “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.”
Later, in 2016, she went on to name Trump in her song, “Black Barbies.” She rapped, “Island girl, Donald Trump want me go home.” In 2018, she also spoke out about coming to the U.S. as an “illegal immigrant.”
“I came to this country as an illegal immigrant,” she wrote in an Instagram caption, according to ABC. “I can’t imagine the horror of being in a strange place & having my parents stripped away from me at the age of 5. This is so scary to me. Please stop this. Can you try to imagine the terror & panic these kids feel right now? Not knowing if their parents are dead or alive, if they’ll ever see them again.”
The rapper’s feelings appeared to change in 2020
Nicki Minaj said she didn’t want to “jump” into hating Donald Trump in 2020 during a Pollstar Live conference. While she heavily disagreed with his immigration policies, she couldn’t bring herself to disdain him altogether.
“No, I’m not going to jump on the Donald Trump (hate) bandwagon,” she said, according to Complex. “I don’t like that. I get a lot of people who don’t like him for obvious reasons. But what stuck with me was the children being taken away from their parents when they came into this country; that really bothered me, because I was one of those immigrant children coming to America to flee poverty.”
She then mentioned how she enjoyed his presence on reality TV.
“I was like, something about this doesn’t sit right in my spirit,” she added. “But, on Celebrity Apprentice, I think he was funny as hell.”
Nicki Minaj stood against the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine
In September 2021, Nicki Minaj sparked widespread controversy for voicing COVID‑19 vaccine hesitancy on social media. She tweeted that she would only get vaccinated “once I feel I’ve done enough research.” Minaj shared that she was hesitant to attend events such as the Met Gala because of its vaccine requirement, and she amplified an anecdote about her cousin’s friend in Trinidad, who she claimed experienced swollen testicles and impotence after receiving the vaccine.
Her comments drew fact‑checking from media outlets and responses from public health figures. The White House offered for her to speak with medical experts about the vaccine, according to NPR. And Minaj’s social media posts were widely criticized for contributing to vaccine skepticism rather than documented scientific concerns.
She thanked Donald Trump for his leadership in November 2025
In November 2025, Nicki Minaj made headlines by delivering a speech at a United Nations event organized by the U.S. Mission to the UN in New York. She used her global platform to highlight what she described as the persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
Arranged with the support of U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, Minaj thanked President Donald Trump for his leadership on the issue, according to Fortune. She emphasized that “faith is under attack in way too many places.” And she called for urgent action to protect religious freedom and human rights. In her remarks, she said no group should be persecuted for practicing their religion and framed her appearance as a broader plea for justice.
Nicki Minaj joined Erika Kirk at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest in December 2025
Many Nicki Minaj fans were surprised to see her join Erika Kirk at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest conference in Phoenix, Arizona, in December 2025. At the gathering, Minaj delivered some of her most explicitly pro‑Trump statements to date. She told the crowd that she had the “utmost respect and admiration” for President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance, framing them as relatable role models for young men and praising their leadership in front of the largely conservative audience.
“Dear young men, you have amazing role models, like our handsome, dashing president,” she said. “And you have amazing role models like the assassin, JD Vance, our vice president.”
Minaj also addressed her decision to support Trump. According to People, she said she “got tired of being pushed around.”
“I have something inside of me that’s stronger than what’s out there,” she continued. “So when you’ve had enough, you realize, ‘Wait a minute, why do I even care about these people and what they think? Who are they?’ They don’t even know who they are. So I’m not going to back down anymore. I’m not going to back down ever again.”
