Nicki Minaj has shared the reasons behind her embrace of MAGA politics, citing frustrations with former president Barack Obama and his friendship with rapper Jay-Z as a catalyst for her increasingly right-wing views.
The Trinidadian rapper, 43, who publicly declared herself Donald Trump’s “number one fan” in January, has said she’s leaned more conservative for a while.
In a wide-ranging interview with Time magazine, Minaj shared the root of her political conversion. She explained that during Obama’s time in office, there seemed to be an unspoken expectation that Black entertainers would automatically support the Democratic Party.
Adding to the “Starships” artist’s disapproval of Obama was his friendship with Jay-Z, with whom Minaj has a long-standing rivalry over allegations that he tried to sabotage her career through his entertainment company Roc Nation’s power monopoly in the industry.
“Jay-Z ended up costing Obama a lot, whether he knows it or not,” Minaj said, claiming, “Lots of rappers don’t like Jay-Z and were afraid to say it.”
The Independent has contacted representatives for Obama and Jay-Z for comment.
Minaj further referenced a 2024 speech Obama delivered on the campaign trail for Kamala Harris, in which he suggested that some Black male voters were uncomfortable with the idea of putting a woman in power.
“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,” the Grammy-winning artist said. “They felt like they weren’t being listened to.”
Elsewhere in the interview, she revealed that she had felt pro-Trump for some time, but “didn’t dare act like that publicly” for fear of alienating fans. “It’s been ingrained in everyone’s brain in the music business that we are supposed to be a Democratic family,” she said. “I just knew they would not like me supporting Trump.”
However, since coming out in full support of Trump’s agenda, Minaj said she’s “never felt happier.”
“I’ve never felt better,” she added. “When you can be yourself, you’re happier.”
Minaj’s outspoken support for the president in recent months has surprised many of her fans. She previously addressed the reason behind her backing of Trump on an episode of The Katie Miller Podcast in February.
“When I saw how he was being treated over and over and over, I just couldn’t handle it,” she said. “I felt that…a lot of that bullying, and the smear campaigns and all of the lying, I felt that that had been done to me for so many years.
“And I was watching it in real time happen to someone else, and I didn’t think he deserved it,” Minaj argued.