Trinidad and Tobago-born rapper Nicki Minaj declared herself to be Donald Trump's number one fan on Wednesday, while also showing off her Trump gold card visa, which offers applicants residency and a path to U.S. citizenship.
The U.S. President called the star up on stage in Washington D.C. after she announced her support for the so-called Trump Accounts, which provide trust funds for children.
Previously a critic of Trump's hardline immigration policies, Minaj, who came to the U.S. with her parents as a child, has praised his leadership in recent years.
This comes at a time of protests after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were involved in the fatal shootings of U.S. citizens.
I will say that I am probably the president's number one fan, and that's not going to change, said Minaj, who was seen holding hands with Trump on the podium. And the hate or what people have to say, it does not affect me at all. It actually motivates me to support him more.
She also displayed her new card, emblazoned with Trump's face, in a thread on X with the caption: Welp. Finalising that citizenship paperwork as we speak as per my wonderful, gracious, charming president, she later added, noting that the card had come free of charge.
Minaj's gold card gives her unlimited right of residence in the U.S., but she is still not a U.S. citizen under the agreement. The scheme has faced criticism for arriving at a time when Trump is clamping down on illegal immigrants.
In 2024, during a TikTok streaming session, she added: I'm not a citizen of America. Isn't that crazy? I was born on a beautiful island called Trinidad and Tobago. But I've been in the States for many years. You would think that with the millions of dollars that I've paid in taxes to this country that I would have been given an honorary citizenship many, many, many thousands of years ago.
Minaj has faced backlash online from her fans over her backing of Trump, contrasting substantially with other musicians like Bruce Springsteen, who have openly criticized the former president and his policies.
