Nicki Minaj has praised U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance as “amazing role models” for young men.
The Super Bass hitmaker made a surprise appearance at the Turning Point USA convention in Phoenix, Arizona on Sunday, where she joined chief executive Erika Kirk for a conversation onstage.
Kirk took over the running of the conservative organisation after her husband, Charlie Kirk, was shot and killed at an event held on the campus of Utah Valley University in September. He was 31.
To begin, Kirk asked Minaj what she had learned from Trump’s administration.
“I have the utmost respect and admiration for our President. I don’t know if he even knows this, but he’s given so many people hope,” she declared. “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… Both of them have a very uncanny ability to be someone that you relate to.”
Minaj went on to note that she recently became interested in speaking out on political matters because she “got tired of being pushed around”.
“I have something inside of me that’s stronger than what’s out there,” the 43-year-old continued. “So, when you’ve had enough, you realise, ‘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.”
Elsewhere in the Q&A, Minaj criticised Governor of California Gavin Newsom’s comments about transgender youth and made a play on the politician’s name, labelling him “New-scum”.
“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. And when I say that…” the Pink Friday star stated, before realising she was sitting next to Kirk, whose husband was assassinated.
In response to the awkward moment, the mother-of-two brushed off the comment.
“If the Internet wants to clip it, who cares? I love this woman. She’s an amazing woman. She has a soul and a heart for the Lord. And words are words, but I know her heart, and it doesn’t even matter. And you say what you want to say, because I know your heart and I will not judge that, sister,” the 37-year-old replied.
Last month, Minaj voiced her support for Trump while making a passionate speech on the topic of Christian persecution in Nigeria at the United Nations (U.N.) Headquarters in New York City.
