Nicki Minaj Says Trump's Treatment During Campaign Drove Her Political Shift

Nicki Minaj admits that her public endorsement of Donald Trump was for the most part, less about the policies and more about her perception of how he was treated unfairly throughout his campaign – a scenario that she says was very familiar to her.

The 43-year-old rapper cleared the air about the controversy that surrounded her political stand during her interview on The Katie Miller Podcast where she explained that her coming out as conservative was not because of political figures such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom or global matters, but because she saw Trump being attacked non-stop.

"Religious freedom is something that's very important to me," Minaj said when asked what influenced her thinking. She then pointed directly to Trump, saying that seeing "how he was being treated over and over and over" became the breaking point.

'Bullying' Claims and a Personal Connection

Minaj told podcast host Katie Miller that the criticism aimed at Trump resonated with her on a personal level, echoing experiences she says she has faced throughout her own career.

She said she recognized "a lot of that bullying in this man's campaign, and all of the lying," adding that it mirrored what she felt had been done to her "for so many years." Watching it unfold publicly, she said, forced her to confront her own silence.

"I didn't think he deserved it," she said, explaining that it led her to decide, "I can't do this anymore."

Minaj also suggested her political outspokenness was something she had long sensed was coming. During the interview, she spoke about feeling drawn toward a purpose beyond music, telling Miller that she believed her path had been aligning for years.

"I had this strong premonition my whole life that I had a second job to do," she said, later adding that "sometimes people can push you SO MUCH that they push you all the way into your next calling."

Rather than retreating, Minaj has leaned further into her stance. In recent days, she has referred to herself as Trump's "No. 1 fan," according to BBC, and appeared alongside him at a Washington, D.C., event centered on Trump Accounts at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium.

"I am probably the president's No. 1 fan," she said from the podium. "And that's not going to change."

She also told the crowd that criticism and smear campaigns would not weaken Trump's supporters, adding, "We're not going to let them get away with bullying him."

Trump, speaking off-mic, responded simply: "That is so nice, thank you."

Immigration History Fuels Renewed Criticism

Last month the backlash reached its peak when the fans brought up a 2018 Instagram post in which Minaj talked about her story of coming illegally to the United States as a child and slammed the U. S. family separation policy at the border with Mexico.

"I came to this country as an illegal immigrant @ 5 years old," she wrote at the time, calling the separation of children from their parents "so scary."

Critics accused Minaj of contradicting her past views, particularly as she has recently engaged positively with content promoting the SAVE Act and appeared at a Turning Point USA event alongside conservative commentator Erika Kirk.

The resurfaced post, which showed children lying on mats inside a detention center run by the Department of Homeland Security.

Further scrutiny followed comments Minaj made during a 2024 TikTok Live, where she said she is not a U.S. citizen.

"I was born on a beautiful island called Trinidad and Tobago," she said, according to Newsweek, joking that despite paying "millions of dollars" in taxes, she had not been granted "honorary citizenship."

Tags

Nicki Minaj, Donald Trump