Rapper Nicki Minaj opened up about her political evolution toward the MAGA movement in a Time magazine feature published Wednesday, in which she revealed the pivotal moment that led her to publicly embrace President Donald Trump.
The “Super Bass” artist said she supported Trump long before boosting him on social media in late 2025 or appearing hand in hand with him at a high-profile Washington, D.C., event this January, but feared the backlash that might come with openly endorsing the president.
“I felt that way already about him, just that I didn’t dare act like that publicly,” she explained. “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.”
Minaj said things shifted last April after she was targeted in a swatting hoax, a form of harassment where false emergency reports are used to dispatch police to an unsuspecting victim’s home.
Though the “Anaconda” rapper sought help from California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) after similar incidents in 2022 and 2023, she said she was stunned when his office never responded.
