Nicki Minaj reveals why she supports 'bullied' Donald Trump amid worldwide backlash

Nicki Minaj revealed why she has publicly thrown her support behind Donald Trump despite intense backlash while appearing on The Katie Miller Podcast.

During her latest interview, the rapper, 43, said her political shift wasn't sparked by California Governor Gavin Newsom or international issues, but by watching what she described as relentless 'bullying' directed at Trump during his campaign.

'Religious freedom is something that's very important to me,' Minaj said when asked what pulled her toward conservative politics. 'But if I'm being honest, President Trump … because when I saw how he was being treated over and over and over, I just couldn't handle it.'

She went on to explain that the criticism leveled at Trump felt deeply personal. 

'I felt that same, you know, a lot of that bullying in this man's campaign, and all of the lying,' the mother-of-one claimed. 'I felt that that had been done to me for so many years, and I was watching it in real time happen to someone else, and I didn't think he deserved it. And it made me think, I can't do this anymore.'

Minaj also reflected on what she described as a long-held sense that she was being pulled toward something beyond music. 

She said that during the most recent presidential campaign, she felt compelled to speak out, believing the things she was predicting were 'coming to fruition' and that she might be stepping into a new calling.

In one clip, Miller, a former Trump administration official, who is married to high-level Trump adviser Stephen Miller, asks Minaj, 'You've been recently very vocal about politics and social issues. Was there a specific moment that flipped the switch for you? What made you wake up, so-to-speak?'

'I think that peoples' steps are aligned...' Nicki began to answer. 'I had this strong premonition my whole life that I had a second job to do,' the star admitted.

She also cryptically revealed that 'something happened a few months ago' and 'sometimes people can push you SO MUCH that they push you all the way into your next calling.'

Her remarks come amid renewed scrutiny following the 2026 Grammy Awards, where host Trevor Noah took aim at Minaj during his opening monologue. 

While noting her absence from the ceremony, Noah quipped, 'Nicki Minaj is not here,' before adding sarcastically, 'She is still at the White House with Donald Trump discussing very important issues.'

He then launched into a Trump impersonation, joking, 'You know what, Nicki, I have the biggest a**. 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!'

Minaj fired back the following morning on X, writing: 'As they do their ritual tonight, God almighty will reveal himself to them. The ritual will backfire on them. God will not be mocked. Blessed is the MIGHTY NAME OF JESUS CHRIST. Every tongue that rises up against me in judgement shall be condemned & put to shame.'

In recent days, Minaj has doubled down on her stance, even referring to herself as Trump's 'number one fan.' 

She appeared in Washington, DC last week at an event focused on Trump Accounts, where she was photographed taking the former president's hand.

'I am probably the president's No. 1 fan,' Minaj said from the podium at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium. 'And that's not going to change.'

She added that criticism only strengthens her resolve - and that of Trump's supporters. 

'We're not going to let them get away with bullying him, and, you know, the smear campaigns, it's not going to work, OK? He has a lot of force behind him, and God is protecting him. Amen?'

Trump responded off-mic, telling the rapper, 'That is so nice, thank you.'

As Minaj exited the stage, she again shook Trump's hand, with the two briefly holding hands as they stood behind Kevin O'Leary during his remarks.

The bizarre moment quickly spread online and reignited debate over her outspoken political allegiance and the motivations behind their unexpected friendship. 

Last month, she renewed backlash after fans resurfaced a years-old social media post in which she said she came to the United States illegally as a child. 

Critics pointed out the hypocrisy of her newfound praise of Trump's policies, many of which separate families and support mass deportations.

The uproar followed Minaj's appearance at a Turning Point USA event alongside conservative commentator Erika Kirk in December.

Almost immediately, fans began circulating a 2018 Instagram post in which Minaj described her own immigration story while condemning family-separation policies at the U.S.–Mexico border.

This prompted reactions like 'she's out of touch with a past she survived lol' and 'a far cry from who she is now.'

At the time, Minaj wrote: 'I came to this country as an illegal immigrant @ 5 years old. 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?'

The post, which featured an image of children lying on mats inside a chain-link fenced detention center run by the Department of Homeland Security, was shared amid widespread outrage over migrant children being separated from their parents.

Some fans have even accused Minaj, who was born in Saint James, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago and raised in Queens, New York, of being a 'complete sellout.'

That criticism intensified as users contrasted her past words with her more recent activity, including responding positively to a clip of Katie Miller, White House Homeland Security adviser Stephen Miller's wife, promoting the SAVE Act, legislation meant to prevent 'illegal aliens' from 'voting and engaging in our democracy.'

One reaction summed up the mood bluntly: 'And now she's defending ICE and kids having their parents ripped away from them.'

In 2024, Minaj claimed during a TikTok Live that she is not a U.S. citizen.

'I was born on a beautiful island called Trinidad and Tobago. But I've been in the States for many years,' she said, adding that despite paying 'millions of dollars' in taxes, she joked she had not been granted 'honorary citizenship many, many, many thousands of years ago.'

Critics seized on the comment as further proof, in one user's words, that Minaj is 'an immigrant who only cares about money and gives no true f**ks about 'the culture' she profited off of.'

In addition to the backlash over her immigration stance, Minaj made headlines, most recently, for her escalating feud with journalist Don Lemon.

In January, Minaj erupted on X after Lemon livestreamed a disruptive protest at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, where demonstrators interrupted a Sunday service to condemn alleged ties between church leadership and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

In an all-caps post, Minaj wrote: 'DON 'C**K SUCKIN' LEMON IS DISGUSTING.'

She followed up with: 'HOW DARE YOU? I WANT THAT THUG IN JAIL!!!!! HE WOULD NEVER DO THAT TO ANY OTHER RELIGION. LOCK HIM UP!!!!!'

Lemon, who covered the protest tied to the killing of Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old Minneapolis mother fatally shot by ICE agent Jonathan Ross, responded by saying he was 'not surprised Nicki Minaj does not understand journalism.'

While appearing later on the I've Had It podcast, Lemon called Minaj 'ignorant.'

'She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. She’s always weighing in on things that she doesn’t know about. Nicki Minaj should just sit the f**k down,' he insisted.

Minaj wasn't always openly Republican, but has since become a a prominent supporter of the MAGA movement.

In November, Minaj thanked Trump for his 'leadership' while speaking at the United Nations about alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria, praising his administration's focus on religious freedom.