Nicki Minaj Slammed for Surprise Appearance at Turning Point USA Rally
The rap superstar took the stage next to Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, and has received heavy criticism.
Erika Kirk and Nicki Minaj high-five during an interview on the final day of Turning Point USA's annual AmericaFest conference at the Phoenix Convention Center on December 21, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Photo by Caylo Seals/Getty Images.
Nicki Minaj made a surprise appearance on Sunday, Dec. 21, at Turning Point USA’s AmeriFest. According to the Associated Press, Minaj walked onstage with Erika Kirk, the widow of Charlie Kirk, and the rap star would go on to praise President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, calling them “role models” for young men.
“I have the utmost respect and admiration for our president. I don't even know if he knows this, but he has given so many people hope that there's a chance to beat the bad guys and to win and to do it with your head held high and your integrity intact," Minaj said.
She was interviewed at the AmericaFest convention by Kirk about her newfound support for Trump — after she’d condemned him in the past — and about her denouncing violence against Christians in Nigeria.
The president has recently made violence in Nigeria a talking point with public claims of an ongoing genocide against Christians in the West African nation. While President Trump and many faith-based commentators have described the situation as a targeted genocide against Christians, this characterization is disputed.
Studies on deaths from armed conflict in the region have indicated that Christians are killed in significantly higher numbers than other identified religious groups, but estimates vary greatly depending on the source. Many of these studies are not independently verified by major international monitoring agencies and often come from faith-based advocacy groups with specific missions. They may use different methodologies or definitions of religious targeting.
Religious identity often intersects with ethnic, economic, land and security conflicts, and the data does not indicate all deaths were motivated by distinctions in the perpetrators' and victims' faith. Violence in Nigeria is not uniformly driven solely by religion.
Minaj recently spoke about the issue at the United Nations, and she continued with conservative talking points in her praise of the president at the Turning Point USA conference.
"What it's shown me, personally, is sometimes even in the worst feeling times in your life, you think you're never going to come back from it. But you do. And our president shows that," Minaj said. "He's been through every single thing a person can be through publicly – having to constantly be lied [about]."
Minaj also mocked California Gov. Gavin Newsom, (who she referred to as “New-scum”,) while sharing her admiration for Trump and Vance, who received an endorsement from Erika Kirk — despite the fact he has not said whether he will run for president.
Minaj’s appearance drew criticism online.
