As Nicki Minaj pointed out in her song “Black Barbies” in 2016, “Island girl, Donald Trump wants me go home,” however, in recent months, she’s started displaying some different sentiments, gaining attention for more than just her music. Despite some remarks in songs and interviews, looking back at her previous political commentary through the years, it’s been a slippery slope for Nicki Minaj since as early as 2015 when she said “There are points he has made that may not have been so horrible if his approach wasn’t so childish, but in terms of entertainment — I think he’s hilarious”.
Now, over ten years later, her support for President Trump is as blatant, suspicious, and, for some, as surprising as ever. In November 2025, she reposted an official White House TikTok video promoting all of Trump’s claimed achievements since he took office in January. Though a considerably minimal show of support on her part, it marked the start of her newfound political outspokenness. While there has been no real motive made clear she has commented multiple times that she believes President Trump is unfairly criticized and bullied by the media, something that contributed to her decision to come out in support of him.
In an interview with Erika Kirk, she responded to a question about why she had suddenly decided to speak out, saying, “I just got tired of being pushed around. I’m not going to back down anymore”. Since then, she has made it very clear her great support and admiration for the President, even going as far as to meet with him at a summit.
After this summit, she posted a picture online of a Trump gold card, an expedited visa worth $1 million. However, according to Minaj, this gold card was free of charge. Despite her flex on social media, a White House official clarified that it was more of a memento than an actual way to circumvent the immigration system, though she has been a permanent resident of the country for around two decades, which means she was already eligible to petition for citizenship. Looking back at a 2018 Facebook post by Minaj, she noted that she came to the country illegally and directly criticized Trump’s recent policies, specifically separating migrant children from their parents.
In response to her show of support, there have been expressions of outrage and shock at this seemingly sudden turn, but I would like to pose the question: why do we care? Nicki Minaj, though influential, is not involved in anything that really impacts our current state of government. Her role is in the music industry, and while it seems as if she is one of the few in her industry making an effort to express this opinion, she is also one of many. Her relevancy is only as influential as we make it.