Nicki Minaj made a guest appearance at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest on Sunday, as the Queens rap legend sat down with right-wing political commentator Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, for a glowing interview — but Charlie might not have been as positive about the rapper in his lifetime, according to a resurfaced video.
Throughout her time onstage, Minaj effusively championed President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance for the job their administration has done since getting into office. She praised them as “role models” for society to follow, while condemning California Governor Gavin Newsom, whom she nicknamed “New-scum.”
“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, later adding, “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.”
But despite Minaj’s praise, Charlie Kirk — who was shot and killed on Sept. 10 at a campus debate event in Utah in what Gov. Spencer Cox called a “political assassination” — was previously critical of Minaj and her music in a resurfaced clip from April 2024, which has made the rounds on social media since Nicki’s AmericaFest appearance.
While he seemed to conflate Nicki and Cardi B, Kirk deemed that Minaj was not a suitable role model for young Black women.
“Black culture is being held captive by influences, songs and role models. Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, I don’t think that’s a good role model for 18-year-old Black girls,” he said. “I don’t think that songs that are talking about glorifying wet female genitalia — I don’t know which one wrote that song.”
It’s unclear what Kirk’s view of Minaj was at the time of his death. Supporters also recirculated a tweet from Kirk in 2021, and his view of how the rapper was being treated by the Democratic Party.
“Democrats’ treatment of Nicki Minaj should be all the proof you need that they don’t care about Black people, especially those they can’t control. They just use them every 4 years for their votes,” Kirk wrote. “But people are waking up.”
Minaj has continued to be outspoken about political issues, and she attended a United Nations event in November to raise awareness about the alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
