Information Americas, Washington, D.C., Jan. 28, 2026: Trinidad and Tobago–born rapper Nicki Minaj is now publicly embracing former President Donald Trump – calling herself his “No. 1 fan” and dismissing criticism of her political flip as motivation somewhat than deterrence.
“I’ll say that I’m in all probability the president’s No. 1 fan,” Minaj instructed the group Wednesday at a U.S. Treasury Department–hosted summit in Washington, D.C., marking the launch of so-called “Trump Accounts,” a brand new tax-advantaged financial savings program for youngsters.
“And that’s not going to alter,” the 43-year-old performer added.
Minaj, born Onika Maraj, stated backlash over her assist has solely strengthened her resolve. “The hate or what individuals must say doesn’t have an effect on me in any respect. It truly motivates me to assist him extra,” she stated. “We’re not going to allow them to get away with bullying him and smear campaigns.”
Her remarks got here simply forward of Trump’s personal speech on the occasion, the place she claimed divine safety over the previous president. “He has quite a lot of pressure behind him, and God is defending him,” she stated.
Minaj’s endorsement marks a hanging reversal from her public stance throughout Trump’s first time period. In 2020, she stated she wouldn’t “soar on the Donald Trump bandwagon,” and had beforehand spoken brazenly about coming to america as an undocumented youngster.
In a extensively shared 2018 publish, Minaj criticized household separations on the U.S.-Mexico border, writing that she herself entered the nation with out authorized standing as a toddler.
“I got here to this nation as an unlawful immigrant,” she wrote on the time. “I can’t think about the horror of being in an odd place & having my mother and father stripped away from me on the age of 5.”
She urged authorities then to cease the observe, calling it “so scary” and pleading for compassion towards kids detained on the border.
Minaj’s look on the Treasury summit is a part of a broader sample of more and more seen alignment with conservative causes. She not too long ago appeared at Turning Level USA’s AmericaFest and has spoken favorably of Trump throughout interviews and public occasions – a shift that has drawn each reward and backlash, together with on-line requires her deportation.
“I’ve the utmost respect and admiration for our president,” Minaj stated at a latest occasion. “He’s given so many individuals hope.”
The rapper has additionally drawn consideration for public feuds, together with a latest conflict with former CNN host Don Lemon, whom she criticized on social media.
Some have prompt her embrace of the president is to assist her brother and husband, who’ve confronted authorized challenges, get hold of a pardon. Her husband, Kenneth Petty beforehand served 4 years in jail as a Degree 2 intercourse offender after he was discovered responsible of raping a 16-year-old woman, whom he held at knifepoint, in 1994.
Her brother, Jelani Maraj, has additionally confronted authorized points. In 2017, Maraj, then 38, was convicted of raping an 11-year-old woman at his Lengthy Island residence. Maraj stated the accusations have been invented by the sufferer’s mom to go after Minaj’s household’s fortune. He was sentenced to 25 years to life in 2020.
The summit targeted on the launch of Trump Accounts, a provision included in final 12 months’s tax laws. This system supplies a $1,000 authorities contribution for U.S.-citizen newborns, invested in inventory market index funds and accessible when the kid turns 18 for permitted makes use of resembling training, dwelling purchases, or beginning a enterprise.
Mother and father can contribute further funds yearly, with employers, family, and philanthropic organizations additionally allowed to take part. The accounts are managed by non-public monetary companies and are topic to taxes upon withdrawal.
Trump argued the initiative would give kids “actual belongings and a shot at monetary freedom,” whereas critics say it favors households with the means to contribute and does little to deal with early childhood poverty.
Minaj didn’t tackle these criticisms immediately however praised the initiative as increasing alternative for future generations.
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