Nicki Minaj made a surprise appearance Sunday at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest conference in Phoenix, according to CNN reports. The rapper joined the group’s CEO, Erika Kirk, for an onstage conversation and offered enthusiastic praise for President Donald Trump.
“I have the utmost respect and admiration for our president,” Minaj told the audience. “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.”
Minaj also pointed to shared roots with Trump, “He’s from Queens, New York, like me,” she said. “What it’s shown me personally is sometimes even in the worst-feeling times in your life, you think that you’re never going to come back from it. But you do.”
The rapper, who appeared ahead of Vice President JD Vance, praised both men for what she described as their ability to connect with everyday people. She said Trump and Vance have “a very uncanny ability to be someone that you relate to.”
During the conversation, Minaj also revisited her recent criticism of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, reading aloud from her own social media posts and responding when asked to elaborate on her remarks.
“Dear Newscum, we don’t have a problem cleaning up the scum if we have to,” Minaj said. “Please tread lightly.”
When Kirk questioned Minaj about why she decided to speak about politics, she kept her answer simple.
“I got tired of being pushed around,” Minaj said. “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.’ When you’ve had enough, you realize, ‘Why do I even care about these people and what do they think? Who are they? They don’t even know who they are.’ I’m not going to back down anymore. I’m not going to back down ever again.”
While the appearance caught many by surprise, it was not Minaj’s first public step into political spaces. In recent months, she has spoken openly about her admiration for Trump and has aligned herself with several conservative causes. Last month, she spoke at an event in New York highlighting what organizers described as the persecution of Christians in Nigeria. At that gathering, she was introduced by U.S. ambassador Mike Waltz and publicly thanked both Waltz and Trump for their involvement.
Minaj’s presence at AmericaFest underscores the increasingly visible overlap between celebrity culture and partisan politics, particularly as entertainers use their platforms to signal ideological alignment. For some fans, her comments represent a continuation of a political evolution she has been vocal about online; for others, they mark a sharper departure from the expectations often placed on artists in mainstream hip-hop culture.
Either way, Minaj’s appearance made clear that she is no longer dipping a toe into political discourse. She is stepping fully onto the stage — and doing so on her own terms.
GrioFam, how do you feel about Nicki Minaj’s political stance?
