Celebrities crash and burn all of the time, but Nikki Minaj’s descent into MAGA devotion might be the most bizarre example.
Minaj may have once been known as the “Queen of Rap” for blazing a trail for female rappers, but in the years since she shot to the top of the charts with hits like “Anaconda” and “Super Bass” she has made headlines over and over gain for feuding with Megan Thee Stallion, vaccine denial, and the controversy surrounding her marriage to a convicted sex offender.
But now she’s gone from being a rap innovator and LGBTQ+ ally to loudly and proudly supporting President Donald Trump and the MAGA agenda. It’s a strange turn of events to go from being an immigrant who once spoke out against Trump’s policies and had a huge LGBTQ+ fanbase to now sharing a stage with the ultra-conservative president and praising him on social media.
So how did Minaj go from performing at the Super Bowl with Madonna and being named one of Time’s 100 most influential people in the world to being hated by former fans and her fellow celebrities alike and roasted by the host of this year’s Grammys?
June 20, 2018: Nikki Minaj speaks out against Trump
The Trinidad-born immigrant spoke out against Trump in 2018 in a Facebook post where she criticized him during his first term in office for his mass deportation policy.
“I came to this country as an illegal immigrant @ 5 years old,” she wrote alongside a photo of children in an immigrant detention center. “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?”
But this vocal criticism of Trump wouldn’t last.
September 12, 2021: Spreading misinformation about the COVID vaccine
During the height of the COVID pandemic, Minaj spread false claims that the vaccine was making men impotent and the social media post went so viral that the Biden administration had to contact her to try to and educate her about the vaccines in an attempt to beat back the misinformation.
“My cousin in Trinidad won’t get the vaccine cuz his friend got it & became impotent,” she wrote. “His testicles became swollen. His friend was weeks away from getting married, now the girl called off the wedding. So just pray on it & make sure you’re comfortable with ur decision, not bullied.”
September 14, 2021: She refuses to get vaccinated
When Minaj refused to get vaccinated and admitted on social media that she had contracted COVID, she was told she could no longer attend the Met Gala that year. Minaj again called the validity of the vaccine into question when she wrote she “had the exact same symptoms as ppl with the damn vaccine.”
November 9, 2023: More anti-vax rhetoric
Minaj doubled down on her anti-vax stance when she told Vogue that she wanted people to do their own research and not trust the government. “I like to make my own assessment of everything without help from everyone,” she said. “Every time I talk about politics, people get mad. I’m sorry, but I am not going to be told who I should get on social media and campaign for. There’s a lot we don’t know that’s going on in the government, and I don’t think it changes whether you lean to the left or right.”
December 12, 2025: Attacking trans youth
Minaj went from someone with a devoted LGBTQ+ fanbase to attacking transgender kids seemingly overnight. On December 12, she made a transphobic social media post in response to a video of California Governor Gavin Newsom talking about how he doesn't think trans women competing against cis women in sports is “fair,” while also showing his support for trans kids, and pointing out how no other governor has “signed more pro-trans legislation” than he has.
"Imagine being the guy running on wanting to see trans kids. Haha," Minaj wrote on X. "Not even a trans ADULT would run on that. Normal adults wake up & think they want to see HEALTHY, SAFE, HAPPY kids."
December 21, 2025: Turning Point USA speech
Minaj received backlash in December after she made a controversial surprise appearance at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest and shared the stage with Charlie Kirk’s widow Erika Kirk.
In her speech, the “Beez in the Trap” rapper talked about her Christian faith and leaned into anti-LGBTQ+ conservative talking points when she said, "Boys, be boys... It's okay be boys... There's nothing wrong with being a boy," CBS News reported.
January 28, 2026: Bragging about her Trump Gold Card
Minaj is no longer shy about her support of MAGA and last week she went viral when she posted a photo of her Trump Gold Card — which allows wealthy foreign nationals to pay obscene amounts of money to secure a green card — and made a second X post that was retweeted by the White House’s official account, where Minaj called Trump a “wonderful, gracious, charming President” for helping the Trinidadian celeb gain U.S. permanent residency.
January 28, 2026: U.S. Treasury event speech
Minaj also joined Trump on stage as he delivered remarks during the Treasury Department's Trump Accounts Summit on January 28, where she called herself “probably the president’s No. 1 fan” and thanked Trump for gifting her a Trump Gold Card for free when it typically costs $1 million.
Minaj may have thought she was on the fast track to U.S. citizenship when Trump gifted her a Trump Gold Card, but it turns out she sold out for nothing. A White House official told the New York Times that the card Minaj received was nothing more than a “memento” and not a “visa document.”
While speaking on stage at the event, Minaj also made it clear that she expects to receive criticism for her support of the Trump administration and that the backlash will make her double down. “And the hate or what people have to say, it does not affect me at all,” she said. “It actually motivates me to support him more, and it’s going to motivate all of us to support him more.”
February 1, 2026: Her MAGA Rant
Minaj may not have attended the Grammys, but after host Trevor Noah called her out for allying herself with Trump in his monologue, the 43-year-old rapper went on a rant on X.
She made more than a dozen posts on the social media site where she wrote that anyone who speaks out against her “shall be condemned & put to shame.” Minaj also urged LGBTQ+ people and Christians not to vote for Democrats, who she claimed have “demons inside of them.”
What do other celebrities think?
Kim Petras
After Minaj spoke out against trans kids, trans pop star Kim Petras, who once collaborated with Minaj, made it known she disagrees, writing on X, “trans kids r healthy btw.”
Billy Porter
When out actor Billy Porter was asked about Minaj on the red carpet at the MusiCares’ 2026 Person of the Year Gala, he didn’t hold back. “F–k her,” he said. “When people show you who they are, believe them the first time. F–k her and all of them!”
Trevor Noah
At the Grammys last night, Trevor Noah used his monologue to mock Minaj for being an outspoken Trump supporter and joked that she wasn’t in attendance because "she is still at the White House with Donald Trump discussing very important issues.”
He then impersonated the president and said, "Actually, Nicki, I have the biggest ass. I have it, everybody's saying it, Nicki. I know they say it's you, but it's me, WAP, WAP, WAP. Look at it, baby."
But perhaps more shocking is how the crowd —packed with A-listers and Minaj's peers — cheered when he said she was not in the building.
