Nicki Minaj’s Trump alliance draws support, criticism from fans and entertainers
After President Donald Trump called Nicki Minaj one of his favorites, the rapper said she was “not going anywhere.” Her political shift has divided some fans and drawn sharply different responses from entertainers.
Nicki Minaj is reaffirming her support for President Donald Trump after he greeted her at the White House by calling her “my favorite.”
“Not going anywhere. Right where I need to be,” Minaj wrote on X after a fan account shared video of the exchange. She was in Washington, D.C., as a celebrity judge for the Small Business Administration’s Million Dollar Pitch Competition.
The moment is part of a political shift that has put Minaj at odds with some listeners and entertainers who once embraced her as an outspoken ally. In 2018, she criticized the Trump administration’s family separation policy, drawing on her own experience immigrating to the United States from Trinidad as a child.
Fans’ responses have varied. A February report by Complex that interviewed members of Minaj’s “Barbz” fan community described reactions ranging from support for her political views to disappointment and withdrawal from the fan community. One fan said Minaj’s political posts had shifted conversations in fan spaces away from music and toward policy.
Entertainers have also taken opposing positions. Rapper and model Amber Rose defended Minaj’s right to hold her own political views, calling her “iconic” after Minaj described herself as Trump’s “No. 1 fan.” At an event covered by Out, several performers criticized Minaj’s alignment with Trump; drag performer Monét X Change said some LGBTQ+ fans would turn away from her.
Singer Cyndi Lauper, whose 1983 hit “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” Minaj sampled for “Pink Friday Girls,” said she does not regret working with the rapper. Lauper said she opposes canceling people and believes conversation requires listening to people with different views. The two performed together during Minaj’s 2024 tour.
The mixed reactions underscore how Minaj’s political stance has become part of the public conversation around her music. Her latest post made clear she intends to maintain her relationship with Trump, even as fans and fellow entertainers continue to debate what that means for her audience and legacy.
