Nicki Minaj, dreamer no more? After Trump event, rapper says citizenship paperwork being finalized

Nicki Minaj, who revealed successful 2018 that she was brought to the United States arsenic an “illegal immigrant” from Trinidad and Tobago erstwhile she was 5 years old, flashed a Trump golden paper Wednesday aft an lawsuit formally launching the president’s IRA-style savings accounts for children. Her citizenship paperwork, she said connected societal media, was being finalized.

“Residency? Residency? The header is coping. ... Finalizing that citizenship paperwork arsenic we talk arsenic per MY wonderful, gracious, charming President,” the “Bang Bang” rapper, 43, wrote Wednesday connected X, including a photograph of the Chucky quality flipping his mediate finger. “Thanks to the petition. ... I wouldn’t person done it without you. Oh CitizenNIKA you are thee moment. Gold Trump paper escaped of charge.”

That station mentioning the card, which delivers citizenship successful the United States for those who wage $1 million, whitethorn person referred to aggregate petitions arguing that the rapper — existent sanction Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty — should beryllium deported to Trinidad and Tobago, wherever she was calved earlier being raised successful Queens, N.Y. A erstwhile station contained a photograph of the golden paper and the azygous connection “Welp ...”

“I came to this state arsenic an amerciable migrant @ 5 years old,” the rapper wrote connected Facebook successful 2018, posting a photograph from the archetypal Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” play of migration enforcement erstwhile migrant children were being separated from their migrant parents astatine the country’s confederate border.

The photograph showed children connected padded level mats with metallic Mylar thermal blankets, walled successful by chain-link fencing. “I can’t ideate the fearfulness of being successful a unusual spot & having my parents stripped distant from maine astatine the property of 5. This is truthful scary to me. Please halt this. Can you effort to ideate the panic & panic these kids consciousness close now?”

In 2020, she said successful a Rolling Stone interrogation that she thought Trump was “funny arsenic hell” connected “Celebrity Apprentice” but was bothered by the images of children taken from their parents.

President Trump talks with rapper Nicki Minaj successful Washington, D.C., connected Wednesday astatine an lawsuit launching the Trump Accounts savings and concern programme for children.

(Jose Luis Magana / Associated Press)

“I was 1 of those migrant children coming to America to fly poverty,” Minaj told the outlet. “And I couldn’t ideate a small kid going done each of that, trying to get to different state due to the fact that they didn’t person wealth successful their country, oregon whether you’re fleeing from warfare … and past being taken distant from the 1 idiosyncratic that makes you consciousness comfort. That is what truly raised my eyebrows.”

At the time, she said she would not “jump connected the Donald Trump bandwagon.”

But Minaj has since travel astir to enactment the president successful his 2nd term, adjacent calling herself his “No. 1 fan” successful remarks Wednesday. “And that’s not going to change,” she said.

“The hatred oregon what radical person to say, it does not impact maine astatine all. It really motivates maine to enactment him more, and it’s going to motivate each of america to enactment him more,” Minaj said. “We’re not going to fto them get distant with bullying him and the smear campaigns. It’s not going to work, OK? He has a batch of unit down him, and God is protecting him.”

The president introduced her arsenic “the top and astir palmy pistillate rapper successful history,” a rubric that’s close going by grounds income and wide beingness connected the Billboard Hot 100. (Of course, Missy Elliott and Ms. Lauryn Hill mightiness privation to person a conversation.)

“I didn’t cognize Nicki, and I’ve been proceeding implicit the years she’s a large Trump supporter, Trump fan,” POTUS continued. “And she took a small vigor connected juncture due to the fact that her assemblage isn’t needfully a Trump fan.”

Trump said Minaj was among those stepping up, on with radical including Dell Computers Chief Executive Michael S. Dell, and donating “hundreds of thousands of dollars” of her wealth to the caller accounts. In summation to her generosity, POTUS was decidedly a instrumentality of Minaj’s long, painted, pointy pinkish manicure. He chuckled arsenic helium told the audience, “I’m going to fto my nails grow, due to the fact that I emotion those nails. I’m going to fto those nails grow.”

In December, earlier Christmas, the rapper besides appeared onstage with blimpish activistic Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk, who was slain successful September astatine Utah Valley University. Minaj took the accidental astatine the Phoenix league of Kirk’s organization, Turning Point USA, to praise Trump and mock California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Minaj, a Christian, praised Trump astatine the clip for lasting up for Christians being persecuted successful Nigeria and elsewhere.

“I person the utmost respect and admiration for our president,” Minaj said. “I don’t cognize if helium adjacent knows this but helium has fixed truthful galore radical anticipation that determination is simply a accidental to bushed the atrocious guys and to triumph and to bash it with your caput held high.”

She besides declared onstage that determination was “nothing incorrect with being a boy.”

“How astir that?” she continued. “How almighty is that? How profound is that? Boys volition beryllium boys, and determination is thing incorrect with that.”

Then Minaj work aloud immoderate of her societal media posts mocking Newsom, calling him “Newscum” and “Gavie-poo” and criticizing his advocacy connected behalf of “trans kids.”

It’s not arsenic if the “Starships” rapper hid the shot astir being harsh erstwhile she said successful 2023 that she was consenting to “be cussing out” definite radical astatine definite times.

“When I perceive the connection mean, I deliberation astir the halfway of who the idiosyncratic is,” she told Vogue. “I ever archer radical that the quality betwixt being mean and being a bitch is that bitch passes. Bitch comes and goes. Mean is who you are. I could beryllium the biggest bitch, astatine the tallness of my bitch-ness, but if the idiosyncratic I whitethorn beryllium cussing retired astatine that clip needs thing from me, I’m going to springiness it to them. I person to beryllium capable to look successful the reflector and beryllium OK with myself.”

Trump accounts for children, a caller benignant of IRA for U.S. citizens who are younger than 18 connected Dec. 31 of the twelvemonth an relationship is opened, are portion of the “Big Beautiful Bill” of taxation breaks and spending cuts that was signed into instrumentality past summer.

For children calved during the 2nd Trump administration, calendar years 2025 done 2028, the accounts volition beryllium seeded with $1,000 from the U.S. Treasury erstwhile a genitor submits a signifier to the IRS to unfastened the account. Additional pre-tax contributions of up to $5,000 a twelvemonth are allowed but not required, and a genitor is the custodian of the relationship until the kid turns 18. Withdrawals for education, lodging oregon concern volition beryllium taxed arsenic mean income.

Minaj is joined to Kenneth Petty — who served 4 years successful situation aft being convicted of attempted rape successful New York successful 1995 — and the mates has 1 son. Nicknamed “Papa Bear,” the tot was calved successful 2020, astir 5 years excessively soon to suffice for that $1,000.