Nicki Minaj Blames Newsom and Jay-Z for Embracing Trump Support

Nicki Minaj says she is done hiding her support for MAGA and blames California Gov. Gavin Newsom and rap executive Jay-Z for pushing her toward President Donald Trump.

In an interview with Time, the 'Anaconda' rapper said feeling ignored by Democratic leaders while getting help from Republicans drove her political shift. Minaj, 43, pointed to repeated swatting at her California home by online trolls as a key turning point. She said her outreach to Newsom's office got no response.

"He just completely ignored me, with all the money I spent in taxes," Minaj said.

Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida stepped in to help in 2025. "I was shocked," Minaj said of Luna's assistance. "I'd never seen anyone in politics treat me that way."

Luna connected Minaj with federal law enforcement and a private security firm after the incidents. That Republican support led Minaj to drop her secrecy about admiring Trump and the MAGA movement.

"That’s what made me say that I don’t care to keep this a secret anymore," she said.

For years, the rap star kept her pro-Trump views private out of fear of backlash from fans and industry figures. "I felt that way already about him, just that I didn’t dare act like that publicly," Minaj said. "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 revived her feud with Jay-Z, accusing him and Roc Nation of trying to harm her career through Democratic ties, including his link to former President Barack Obama. "I think Jay-Z ended up costing Obama a lot, whether he knows it or not," she said. "Lots of rappers don’t like Jay-Z and were afraid to say it."

She criticized Obama's 2024 campaign comments urging Black men to back then-Vice President Kamala Harris. "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," Minaj said. "They felt like they weren’t being listened to."

Fox News Digital sought comment from Minaj, Newsom and Jay-Z.

Trump has welcomed Minaj as a vocal celebrity backer. At the February premiere of 'Melania,' he told Fox News Digital: "Nicki Minaj is fantastic. She’s a terrific person. She was so nice, and she understands, you know, what we’re doing with the Trump accounts. We’re helping children grow up where they’re 18 years old. They’re going to have a lot of money. They’re gonna be rich. And she got it. She’s been a supporter from the beginning. And I think Nicki Minaj is a winner. Fantastic."

They appeared together earlier at the U.S. Treasury Department’s Trump Accounts Summit, where Minaj called herself Trump’s "number one fan." "Well, I don’t know what to say, but I will say that I am probably the president’s number one fan," she told attendees. "And that’s not going to change. And the hate or what people have to say, it does not affect me at all. It actually motivates me to support him more."

Minaj first went public with Trump support in November 2025 after he addressed violence against Christians in Nigeria on Truth Social. After Trump pledged U.S. readiness to protect persecuted Christians there, Minaj thanked him: "Thank you to The President & his team for taking this seriously."