00:00Rapper Nicki Minaj is getting attention for comments that some say sound a lot like she's aligning with President Donald Trump.
00:07But her political footprint has never been simple, so we're taking a look.
00:14At the end of October, President Trump posted on Truth Social saying that Christianity faces what he calls an existential threat in Nigeria.
00:23Posting a screenshot of the post on X, Minaj wrote, thank you to the president and his team for taking this seriously.
00:31God bless every persecuted Christian.
00:34United Nations Ambassador Mike Waltz thanked Minaj for speaking up for the Christians who have been killed in Nigeria
00:40and invited her to visit the U.S. Embassy to the U.N. in New York, to which Minaj replied she'd be honored.
00:47Many people thought the exchange was surprising because taking a look back at her involvement in politics paints a different picture.
00:56I'm a Republican voting for Mitt Romney.
01:00In 2012, the rapper name-dropped Mitt Romney in a song, but later clarified her stance after former President Barack Obama was asked about it on a radio station.
01:10But she likes to play different characters.
01:13Yes, that was probably Roman who did it.
01:16In a now-deleted X post, she wrote at the time, thank you for understanding my creative humor and sarcasm, Mr. President.
01:27The smart ones always do.
01:28And sent her love and support to Obama.
01:31In 2016, she posted, met with President Obama today to discuss a few things that happened to be very dear to my heart.
01:38Fast forward to 2018, Minaj endorsed New York's Andrew Cuomo, Kathy Hochul, and Letitia James, all of them Democrats.
01:46She wrote, see you at the polls.
01:49Minaj was born in Trinidad and Tobago, and after many years of people speculating about her nationality,
01:55she confirmed last year that she is not a U.S. citizen, meaning she cannot vote despite years of endorsements.
02:02She said she feels she deserves citizenship because of the millions of dollars she's paid in U.S. taxes.
02:09And critics say her Republican-aligned rollout is still underway.
02:14Minaj recently reposted a TikTok from the official White House page that used one of her songs,
02:19where the video claimed 2025 has been Trump's year of prioritizing no-men and women sports, closed borders, and deportations.
02:27Some critics speculate Minaj may be aligning with Trump to avoid deportation or to seek a pardon for her husband,
02:35who has a criminal record including an attempted rape conviction and failure to register as a sex offender.
02:41Minaj herself was recently dropped from a related civil lawsuit after that victim alleged harassment.
02:48But others are criticizing Minaj's White House reposts because many of her fans are members of the LGBTQ plus community,
02:55some expressing disappointment.
02:56She has previously advocated for the community,
03:00including pulling out of a performance in Saudi Arabia in 2019 over LGBTQ and women's rights concerns.
03:07But Minaj isn't the only musician who has shifted politically.
03:11George Bush doesn't care about Black people.
03:15In 2005, Kanye West made that now-famous statement during a telethon for Hurricane Katrina.
03:22By 2012, he donated to Obama, then to the DNC in 2014, and to Hillary Clinton in 2015, according to campaign finance documents.
03:32But just a year later, he said if he had voted that year, he would have voted for Trump.
03:38He met with Trump at Trump Tower in 2016, and soon after started appearing publicly in MAGA gear.
03:44There may not be many musical artists who have made that same shift, but other public figures have moved in the opposite direction.
03:52People who once supported Trump and now regret it or have spoken out against him.
03:57Caitlyn Jenner endorsed Trump in 2016, but wrote in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed that she was wrong about him and no longer supports him.
04:06And Roseanne Barr, who previously appeared at a Trump rally in 2023, criticizing him this summer over releasing documents from the Jeffrey Epstein case, telling him to, quote, read the room.
04:18The reasons always differ, whether it's a policy disagreement, a shift in values, or just public pressure.
04:24As for Nicki Minaj, she says she'll be speaking at an event hosted by Ambassador Waltz on Tuesday, focused on the alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
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