Nicki Minaj Finally Shares the Real Reason She Supports Trump

In news that can only be described as “you’ve got to be kidding me,” Nicki Minaj is opening up about her very public and very divisive support of President Donald J. Trump. Specifically, she’s finally letting folks in on exactly when, how, and why she chose to align herself with his controversial ideologies.

For context, we’ve been keeping tabs on the “Beez in the Trap” rapper’s shift towards the right for several months now. Fans first got a clue that there may have been some connection in October 2025 when she started posting about Trump in relation to the ongoing “genocide” of Christians in Nigeria. Until then, Minaj had been keeping quiet on political matters. But the minute she took to X/Twitter to praise Trump, she was subsequently dragged by Black folks online. 

What followed was a string of events none of us saw coming: meetings with people in Trump’s crew; a public online spat against California Governor Gavin Newsom; a fireside chat with Erika Kirk and Turning Point USA; Minaj declaring she was “probably the president’s number one fan” and more.

Now, the “Super Bass” rapper is letting her fans and followers in on how she found affinity with the Trump agenda in a new interview with TIME Magazine published on Thursday. Minaj shared that part of her motivation stems from disappointment with former President Barack Obama and her frustrations tied to “the expectation that Black entertainers would reflexively vote Democratic.” In particular, she cited Obama’s relationship to Jay-Z—a fellow rapper with whom she’s been publicly beefing for a while now—as one of her driving factors.

“I think Jay-Z ended up costing Obama a lot, whether he knows it or not. Lots of rappers don’t like Jay-Z and were afraid to say it,” she explained.

Minaj also wasn’t a fan of Obama’s campaign tactics in 2024, specifically calling the former president’s speech geared towards Black men and their alleged hesitancy to elect a woman as president, condescending.

“I just saw so many videos of Black men saying that they didn’t like the way they felt about that speech that Obama gave. They felt like they weren’t being listened to,” Minaj said.

So, if she’s been feeling that way since 2024, why has she become so open with her Trump support now? Well, it’s likely due to a combination of the reasons she mentioned, along with her anger over what she felt was Gov. Newsom’s lack of action after her Los Angeles home had been “swatted” on several occasions. While Newsom didn’t take action to Minaj’s liking, she says several politicians on the right stepped in to help rectify the situation.

“I was shocked,” Minaj said of that moment. “I’d never seen anyone in politics treat me that way.”

She added that she no longer feels the need to keep her affinity for Trump a secret from people who might have a problem with it.

“I felt that way already about him [Trump], just that I didn’t dare act like that publicly. It’s been ingrained in everyone’s brain in the music business that we are supposed to be a Democratic family. I just knew they would not like me supporting Trump,” she said.

Minaj is now unapologetically going full-speed ahead in her unwavering allegiance to Trump. She also teased that other famous faces share her political beliefs, adding that she hopes that by standing on what she believes, she’ll empower others to do the same.

“Many celebrities feel the way I do, but they don’t say it. Sometimes you just need one brave person to get the brunt of the impact. I think I am the catalyst for that change. Hopefully, when they see me and hear me speak and feel my energy, that will make them say, ‘You know what: Who am I afraid of? What am I afraid of?’ Minaj said.