Rapper Nicki Minaj made an unexpected appearance at Turning Point USA’S AmericaFest convention, where she was interviewed by Erika Kirk, the widow of Charlie Kirk.
The Super Bass rapper and Kirk, 37, walked out hand in hand before sitting down for a conversation in Phoenix to close the first-ever AmericaFest convention on Sunday.
The four-day conference brought together media personalities, conservative activists and leaders from the Republican party.
During her time at the event, Minaj, 43, praised U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, calling them “role models” for young men.
“This administration is full of people with heart and soul, and they make me proud of them. Our vice-president, he makes me … well, I love both of them,” Minaj said. “Both of them have a very uncanny ability to be someone that you relate to.”
“Dear young men, you have amazing role models, like our handsome, dashing president. And you have amazing role models like the assassin, JD Vance, our vice-president,” Minaj said to the crowd.
She quickly realized what word she used to praise Vance’s political skills — “assassin” — and went silent as she covered her mouth with her hand while the crowd murmured.
“If the internet wants to clip it, who cares? I love this woman,” said Erika Kirk, who became a widow when Charlie Kirk was assassinated in September. “Trust me, there’s nothing new under the sun that I have not heard.”
“I love you,” Minaj said to Kirk.
Minaj also mocked California Gov. Gavin Newsom, referring to him as “Newscum,” a nicknamed Trump gave him.
When Kirk asked Minaj to give advice to young men, Minaj said, “Don’t be Newscum.”
“For boys: boys, be boys… There’s nothing wrong with being a boy. How about that? How powerful is that? How profound is that? Boys will be boys, and there’s nothing wrong with that,” she said.
“No matter how you look, we should be trying to instill into them to be proud of how they look,” Minaj continued. “I don’t need someone with blond hair and blue eyes to downplay their beauty because I know my beauty.”
She went on to criticize messaging that makes any group feel like they are not good enough. “I don’t want it done to any girls. I want all the little girls in the world to know that you are unique, you are beautiful,” Minaj added.
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The Grammy-nominated rapper’s recent alignment with the Make America Great Again movement has caught some interest because of her past criticism of Trump, including in 2018 when she condemned Trump’s zero-tolerance immigration policy and described herself as an “illegal immigrant.”
On Sunday, Minaj told the audience: “It’s OK to change your mind.”
“I have the utmost respect and admiration for our president,” the Starships rapper said. “I don’t know if he even knows this, but he’s given so many people hope.”
Minaj said she was tired of being “pushed around,” and she said that speaking your mind with different ideas is controversial because “people are no longer using their minds.”
“I have something inside of me that’s stronger than what’s out there. So when you’ve had enough, you realize, ‘Wait a minute, why do I even care about these people and what they think? Who are they?’ They don’t even know who they are. So I’m not going to back down anymore. I’m not going to back down ever again,” Minaj said of her decision to support Trump.
Kirk thanked Minaj for being “courageous,” despite the “backlash” she’s receiving from the entertainment industry for expressing support for Trump.
“I didn’t notice,” Minaj said. “We don’t even think about them.” Kirk then said, “We don’t have time to. We’re too busy building, right?”
“We’re the cool kids. The other people, they’re the others that are still just disgruntled. They are angry with themselves,” Minaj said. “In a world that doesn’t want us to think, we will think.”
In response to some of Minaj’s comments, Vance took to X, writing, “Nicki Minaj said something at Amfest that was really profound. I’m paraphrasing, but she said, ‘just because I want little black girls to think they’re beautiful doesn’t mean I need to put down little girls with blonde hair and blue eyes.’”
“We all got wrapped up over the last few years in zero sum thinking. This was because the people who think they rule the world pit us against one another. @NickiMinaj rejects that. We all should,” he added.
Minaj made headlines last month when she spoke at a United Nations event organized by the U.S. after Trump’s allegations that Christians are persecuted in Nigeria.
Minaj said that she wanted to shine a spotlight on “the deadly threat.”
She thanked Trump for his leadership and for calling for urgent action “to defend Christians in Nigeria, to combat extremism and to bring a stop to violence against those who simply want to exercise their natural right to freedom of religion or belief.”
She spoke at a panel at the U.S. mission to the United Nations along with U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz and faith leaders. The event came after she replied to Trump’s social media post about Nigeria earlier in November, saying, “”No group should ever be persecuted for practicing their religion.”
Minaj vowed to keep standing up “in the face of injustice” for anyone anywhere who is being persecuted for their beliefs.
“Sadly, this problem is not only a growing problem in Nigeria, but also in so many other countries around the world,” she said.
Minaj said she wanted to make clear that protecting Christians in Nigeria wasn’t about taking sides or dividing people. “It is about uniting people,” she said, calling Nigeria “a beautiful nation with deep faith traditions” that she can’t wait to see.
—With files from The Associated Press
