Updated Dec. 21, 2025, 6:19 p.m. ET
Nicki Minaj is putting her full support behind President Donald Trump‘s administration.
The Trinidadian rapper proclaimed she was “honored” to appear as a surprise guest on the fourth day of Turning Point USA‘s AmericaFest conference in Phoenix on Dec. 21, the first annual summit since Charlie Kirk’s death in September, and praised Trump and Vice President JD Vance for their relatability.
The 43-year-old strolled on stage hand-in-hand with Erka Kirk as Minaj’s 2011 hit “Super Bass” played and greeted the cheering crowd by making a heart with her hands and saluting fans.
“I have the utmost respect and admiration for our president. I don’t even know if he knows this, but he has given so many people hope that there’s a chance to beat the bad guys and to win and to do it with your head held high and your integrity intact,” Minaj said.
She went on to draw parallels between herself and the Republican president, noting that they both hail from Queens, New York.
“What it’s shown me, personally, is sometimes even in the worst feeling times in your life, you think you’re never going to come back from it. But you do. And our president shows that,” Minaj said. “He’s been through every single thing a person can be through publicly – having to constantly be lied [about].”
The singer did not clarify which lies the president has been combating.
Nicki Minaj praises ‘smart, strong’ Trump and JD Vance
“This administration is full of people with heart and soul, and they make me proud of them,” she continued. “I love both of them. They’re both powerful men. Smart, strong, all of that. But both of them have a very uncanny ability to be someone that you relate to. I can relate to them.”
Minaj explained that “When I hear them speak, I know that they’re one of us. … They haven’t lost touch of the world. They’re still connected to the world and what’s happening in the world.”
Trump and JD Vance has the ability to “be real and make us feel proud to be American,” she explained.
Minaj explained why she decided to make a political statement and vowed to never “back down” about her beliefs.
“What was the turning point? Well, I just got tired of being pushed around. Sometimes you just get tired of it and then you realize, ‘Wait a minute. I have something inside of me that’s stronger than what’s out there,'” Minaj told Kirk.
The “Beez in the Trap” rapper then alluded to feeling pressure to be silent about her politics.
“When you’ve had enough, you realize, ‘Wait a minute, why do I even care about these people and what they think? Who are they? They don’t even know who they are,” she said. “So I’m not going to back down anymore. I’m not going to back down ever again.”
Minaj, who has recently been complimentary of Trump on social media, recently worked with his U.N. ambassador, Mike Waltz, to speak out about alleged widespread anti-Christian violence; Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has denied the characterization of the country as being “religiously intolerant.”
She also came out swinging against California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, in X posts that criticized his support of transgender children.
The White House shared a clip from Kirk and Minaj’s sit-down soon after the event and commented in the caption, “Makes us feel proud to be an American 🔥.”
