PHOENIX — Nicki Minaj made a surprise appearance Sunday at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest, praising President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance in a closing-day conversation that underscored her newly public embrace of the Make America Great Again movement. The rapper said she was tired of being “pushed around” and insisted that “it’s OK to change your mind,” Dec. 21, 2025.
Nicki Minaj and the AmericaFest moment
Nicki Minaj took the stage for a sit-down interview with Erika Kirk, who became the face of Turning Point USA after her husband, activist Charlie Kirk, was killed in September. As Minaj lauded Trump and Vance, she stumbled into a striking word choice, calling Vance “the assassin” before freezing and covering her mouth, according to People.
In an account carried by The Associated Press, Nicki Minaj praised what she called an administration with “heart and soul,” told the audience she loved both Trump and Vance, and mocked California Gov. Gavin Newsom using Trump’s “New-scum” nickname.
Beyond domestic politics, Nicki Minaj has recently leaned into religious-freedom arguments that overlap with conservative messaging. AP reported she amplified a Trump post about possible U.S. sanctions tied to attacks on Christians in Nigeria and later joined a panel at the U.S. mission to the United Nations with U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz and faith leaders.
AmericaFest, held Dec. 18-21 at the Phoenix Convention Center, bills itself as “The Biggest Conservative Movement in the Country,” according to the event’s organizers. The conference has become a showcase for conservative influencers, and Minaj’s cameo instantly became one of the weekend’s most talked-about moments.
Nicki Minaj framed the right as the new counterculture. Vanity Fair reported she told the crowd, “We’re the cool kids,” a line that spread quickly beyond the ballroom and fed a familiar debate about whether celebrity politics persuades anyone outside existing camps.
Nicki Minaj’s earlier record as a Trump critic
The pivot stands out in part because Nicki Minaj has spent years pushing back against Trump-era immigration actions. In 2018, she posted an emotional message about family separations at the U.S.-Mexico border, writing that arriving in the United States at age 5 made the policy “so scary,” Teen Vogue reported.
Her public politics have also veered into broader anti-establishment themes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Nicki Minaj drew international attention over vaccine claims and skepticism; the White House later offered to connect her with a Biden administration doctor to answer questions, AP reported in 2021.
And even earlier, she treated the 2016 campaign season more as a punch line than a platform. At a TIME gala that year, she joked about dedicating “Anaconda” to both Joe Biden and Donald Trump, Pitchfork noted.
Whether Nicki Minaj’s AmericaFest appearance becomes a one-off provocation or a lasting political identity will depend on what she does next — and on how much of her audience is willing to follow her from pop superstardom into the MAGA arena.
