Rapper Nicki Minaj is finally discussing what led her to reveal herself as a proud Trump supporter, a stance she claims to have held long before publicly backing the president.
The 43-year-old recording artist went into detail about her journey to MAGA town during an interview with Time published Wednesday.
“I felt that way already about him, just that I didn’t dare act like that publicly,” Minaj told the outlet, saying she feared backlash both from the Left-leaning music industry and from fans. “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.”
The “Super Bass” singer said she wasn’t happy with former president Barack Obama because of comments he made about black men being uncomfortable with a female president while campaigning for Kamala Harris in 2024.
“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,” she added. “They felt like they weren’t being listened to.”
Minaj mentioned that Obama’s association with rapper Jay-Z didn’t help matters, for her and for her peers. “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.”
The singer said a series of “swatting” attacks in 2022 and 2023 also steered her away from Democrats and further into the Trump camp. Swatting refers to individuals calling in fake emergencies and sending law enforcement to someone’s location.
Minaj said she reached out to California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom for help, but he never got back to her.
“He just completely ignored me, with all the money I spent in taxes,” she told Time.
Then in 2025, Minaj was swatted again, and Florida Republican Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna put her in touch with federal law enforcement and a private security team.
“I was shocked,” she said of Luna’s response. “I’d never seen anyone in politics treat me that way.”
It was also a turning point, Minaj said, adding, “That’s what made me say that I don’t care to keep this a secret anymore.”
Despite massive backlash after calling herself “the president’s number one fan” and making several appearances at White House events in support of his administration, Minaj told the outlet she’s “never felt happier.”
“I’ve never felt better. When you can be yourself, you’re happier,” she concluded.
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