MAGA queen of rap: Nicki Minaj becomes Trump’s newest White House surrogate

It marked the culmination of her transformation from a profanity-laced, provocatively dressed hip-hop star to a Jesus-championing, Democratic Party-thrashing, MAGA surrogate.

Conservatives were elated, and Democrats were frustrated.

“Barbz babies getting the bag,” the White House social media account posted, referring to the recent announcement that the rapper would invest “hundreds of thousands” of dollars into the Trump accounts of every child born to American citizens between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028. The “Barbz” are Minaj’s fanbase.

“Just chillin with the King of MAGA, @realDonaldTrump, and the Queen of Rap, @NICKIMINAJ. Good times,” posted Alex Bruesewitz, a media adviser to Trump.

Democrats were not impressed. “Knowing Nicki’s husband, this collab makes a lot of sense,” Gov. Kathy Hochul’s (D-NY) press office huffed online.

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), a frequent target of Minaj, simply posted a meme of Megan’s Law, which requires law enforcement to make information about registered sex offenders public to protect communities, online. It was a taunt against the criminal status of Kenneth Petty, the rapper’s husband, who was found guilty of raping a 16-year-old girl. Her brother Jelani Maraj was also convicted of raping an 11-year-old girl.

Other critics speculated that Minaj’s MAGA predilection could be related to her desire to become an American citizen and to have her family members pardoned by Trump.

Yet the prominent display of Minaj with Trump and even her appearance on the podcast of Katie Miller, the wife of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, is a glaring sign that MAGA is capitalizing on the cultural significance the superstar brings.

“President Trump is the master of the culture, and it undoubtedly contributed to his historic victory. Nicki Minaj represents the culture shifting away from the Left and in support of a fearless, uncancelable, and people-dedicated to common sense in an age of left-wing insanity,” Harrison Fields, a former White House spokesman, told the Washington Examiner. “The president having her support is a threat to the Left and carries a bigger punch than they’re willing to admit.”

Emilie Raymond, a political scientist at Virginia Commonwealth University who studies the intersection of Hollywood and politics, claimed that persuasive celebrities have to be able to speak to the experiences they champion.

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“They need to bring new eyes to the initiative that other people couldn’t, and she could do that,” Raymond said of Minaj’s work on the Trump accounts. “And they have to be willing to kind of get their hands dirty, like willing to go out on the campaign trail, do things that are less glamorous, and take some risk, and she’s doing that too. So I could see this being good for the policy that they’re trying to promote.”

Before this week, Minaj joined Erika Kirk, the widow of the late Charlie Kirk, at the AmericaFest conference hosted by Turning Point USA. At the confab, Minaj blasted Newsom, using the Trump-coined nickname “Newscum.” She also addressed the United Nations in New York last year about the reported persecution of Christians by Islamic militants in Nigeria.

Janiyah Thomas, a former black media director for the Trump campaign in 2024, praised Minaj’s championing of the Trump accounts as an example of public figures and elected officials prioritizing the needs of children above all else.

“Seeing leaders from different backgrounds, including cultural voices like Nicki Minaj, come together around an idea that prioritizes children, families, and economic opportunity is a positive step forward,” said Thomas. “At the end of the day, this isn’t about politics or a celebrity, it’s about giving American kids a stronger foundation and a fair shot at success.”

But having Minaj’s support also comes at a crucial moment for the GOP as it seeks to secure support among voters who will decide which party controls both chambers of Congress during the November midterm elections.

Trump made inroads with black, Latino, and young voters in 2024. However, exit polls from last year’s gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey showed Democrats reversing the trend among Latino and Black voters. Latino voters have expressed some discomfort with Trump’s deportation agenda, particularly in Minnesota, where two American citizens died after attempting to intervene in immigration enforcement operations.

“Nicki Minaj embodies a lot of women in terms of a personal transformation,” said Mehek Cooke, a Republican and legal analyst. “I think we all go through that as we get older, especially as we have children. And in her case, this transformation resonates with a culture that grants enormous moral and also societal weight on celebrity voices, especially among young voters.”

Cooke added it was “extremely brave” for Minaj to stand up and defend her Christian faith and conservative values so publicly.

However, Quenton Jordan, vice president of the Black Conservative Federation, said the GOP should tailor its messaging, such as focusing on historic funding for historically black colleges and universities under the Trump administration, and invest in more minority outreach beyond just relying on Minaj.

“I don’t see the GOP leaning into Nicki Minaj to get the black vote,” Jordan said. “Messaging is more important than having a figure like Nicki Minaj. Not to say that she won’t be involved in the midterms. I actually think she will, but I don’t think that the GOP is necessarily leaning in on Nicki Minaj for a black vote or a young vote.”

Some Barbz appeared split on whether to continue supporting the rapper’s turn from palling around with celebrities such as Jay-Z and Beyoncé to championing the Trump White House.

Minaj, however, appears unbothered by fans who are unhappy with her pro-MAGA turn.

“I am probably the president’s No. 1 fan, and that’s not going to change. And the hate or what people have to say, it does not affect me at all. It actually motivates me to support him more,” she said during the Trump accounts event.

The abundant memes that have spread on social media of Minaj and Trump, along with clips of Minaj on Miller’s podcast, could help bring attention to the White House on issues that will help galvanize voters at the ballot box. Non-political blogs such as TMZ and The Shade Room posted about Minaj’s trip to Washington and are likely to continue reporting on the rapper’s White House affiliation.

“That is a deliberative earned media strategy that is going to have resonance going forward,” said Cayce Myers, a professor at Virginia Tech’s School of Communication. “Now, how much resonance that has for an election long term? I don’t know, but I think that it certainly changes some of the conversations around the president right now in his administration, which to date, in this month of January, has not been really complimentary, to say the least.”

Appearing with Minaj is likely a win for Trump, as negative attention surrounding the aggressive tactics of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers dominates news coverage.

“I don’t see how this hurts him, but I think that it is a one-off narrative that he can utilize. I think both in the contemporary political world, but also in the long term,” Myers added. “This immigration reform and ICE is going to be an issue that he’s going to be dealing with. The criticism that he’s facing is something that he is going to have to manage through the media, and this may be one piece of that strategy.”

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The White House, for its part, says that Minaj’s transformation into a “champion for the MAGA movement” is because of Trump’s focus on issues that matter to a broad coalition of Americans, including the Barbz.

“We hope to see Super-Based Nicki Minaj at the White House again soon in another Make America Great Again hat!” said White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales.