Rapper Nicki Minaj is opening up about the personal and political experiences that led her to publicly embrace the MAGA movement after years of quietly supporting President Trump behind the scenes.
In a new interview with Time magazine, the 43-year-old artist said she long feared publicly supporting President Trump because of the overwhelmingly left-leaning culture within the entertainment industry and the potential backlash from fans and fellow celebrities.
“I felt that way already about him, just that I didn’t dare act like that publicly,” Minaj said. “It’s been ingrained in everyone’s brain in the music business that we are supposed to be a Democratic family. I just knew they would not like me supporting Trump.”
Minaj explained that several political and personal events gradually pushed her away from Democrats and eventually convinced her to stop hiding her support for the president.
One major turning point involved comments made by former President Barack Obama during the 2024 election cycle while campaigning for Kamala Harris. Minaj said many black men felt disrespected by Obama’s remarks suggesting some were uncomfortable supporting a female president.
“I just saw so many videos of black men saying that they didn’t like the way they felt about that speech that Obama gave,” Minaj said. “They felt like they weren’t being listened to.”
The rapper also suggested Obama’s close association with Jay-Z hurt his standing within parts of the hip-hop community.
“I think Jay-Z ended up costing Obama a lot, whether he knows it or not,” she said. “Lots of rappers don’t like Jay-Z and were afraid to say it.”
Minaj said repeated “swatting” incidents targeting her home in 2022 and 2023 further changed her political outlook. Swatting involves fake emergency calls intended to send heavily armed law enforcement officers to a victim’s location.
According to Minaj, she reached out to California Gov. Gavin Newsom for assistance but never received a response despite paying massive taxes in the state.
“He just completely ignored me, with all the money I spent in taxes,” she said.
Things reportedly changed after another swatting incident in 2025, when Rep. Anna Paulina Luna helped connect her with federal law enforcement officials and private security resources.
“I was shocked,” Minaj said of Luna’s response. “I’d never seen anyone in politics treat me that way.”
The rapper described that experience as the moment she finally decided to publicly reveal her support for President Trump and the MAGA movement.
“That’s what made me say that I don’t care to keep this a secret anymore,” she explained.
Despite intense criticism after publicly calling herself “the president’s number one fan” and appearing at White House events tied to the administration, Minaj said she has no regrets about becoming more outspoken politically.
“I’ve never felt happier,” she said. “I’ve never felt better. When you can be yourself, you’re happier.”
The post Nicki Minaj Explains Why She Finally Publicly Embraced MAGA appeared first on Real News Now.
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