Nearly a decade ago, Nicki Minaj flipped Rae Sremmurd’s Black Beatles into Black Barbies, delivering the now-ironic line, “Island girl, Donald Trump want me go home.” At the time, it was satire — a sharp jab at Trump’s early anti-immigration rhetoric.
In 2015, Minaj spoke candidly about Trump during a Billboard interview, describing him as “hilarious” and framing his presidential run as entertainment rather than governance. She added that “if his approach wasn’t so childish,” some of his points might not have sounded so extreme.
That framing no longer applies.
By January 2026, Minaj publicly declared herself President Donald Trump’s “No. 1 fan” while standing beside him at the Trump Accounts Summit in Washington, D.C. Holding his hand onstage, she told the crowd, “That’s not going to change,” signaling her most explicit political allegiance to date.
From Immigration Advocate to MAGA Ally
During Trump’s first term, Minaj positioned herself very differently. In 2018, she condemned the administration’s family separation policies, recalling her own childhood immigration story from Trinidad and Tobago. On Instagram, she wrote:
“I can’t imagine the horror of being in a strange place and having my parents stripped away from me at the age of five.”
Her comments were widely reported and contextualized in outlets like Vogue, where she described herself as politically independent but deeply affected by immigration policy.
Yet in November 2025, Minaj appeared at the United Nations alongside U.S. ambassador Mike Waltz, openly thanking Trump for his “leadership on the global stage” and later boasting on social media that the appearance was a “MAGA flex.”
The shift was no longer theoretical — it was global, visual, and deliberate.
Beef as a Substitute for Relevance
As Minaj’s political alignment hardened, her interpersonal conflicts escalated. Her long-running feud with Cardi B reignited amid the success of Cardi’s album Am I The Drama?, culminating in a social-media war that quickly turned personal — and cruel.
Minaj drew widespread backlash after disparaging Cardi B’s child, a move that critics across hip-hop media called indefensible.
Coverage from VIBE and Yahoo Entertainment documented the fallout, noting how both artists crossed lines — but how Minaj’s remarks marked a particularly low moment.
This wasn’t lyrical sparring. It was attention warfare.
Minaj later admitted that some of her most inflammatory statements — including a homophobic rant aimed at Don Lemon — were made intentionally to attract media coverage, a claim reported following her remarks at the Trump summit.
The Inevitable Backlash
By the 2026 Grammys, Minaj’s political turn had become mainstream punchline territory. Host Trevor Noah joked during the opening monologue that she was “probably still at the White House with Trump,” a quip that drew laughter and applause from the room.
The moment underscored a broader reality: Minaj is no longer shaping culture — she’s reacting to it.
The Bigger Picture
In 2026, celebrity status itself is losing gravity. Kids build audiences of hundreds of millions simply by being authentic on camera. Influence is no longer inherited — it’s earned daily.
Nicki Minaj’s alignment with Trump, her inability to celebrate peers like Megan Thee Stallion or Cardi B, and her reliance on outrage over artistry suggest a figure struggling to stay centered in a culture that has already moved on.
At some point, being hated by Onika becomes inevitable — especially when it’s most convenient for her.
And maybe that’s the real takeaway.
