The fierce backlash against Donald Trump and his administration’s immigration crackdown is in full swing and figures in the cultural world are speaking out against the president’s actions.
In recent days, celebrities at the Sundance Film Festival have expressed serious concern and dismay over the ICE killings in Minnesota; Billie Eilish has called out other celebrities for not using their platforms to call out ICE; composer Philip Glass cancelled the premiere of his new symphony in protest of Trump; and Bruce Springsteen recently released a new song that honours the memory of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, while slamming “Trump’s federal thugs”.
Even figures who have previously aligned themselves with Trump have openly slammed his administration.
American podcast star Joe Rogan, who endorsed Trump during his comeback campaign, said “Are we really going to be the Gestapo? 'Where’s your papers?' Is that what we’ve come to?”, while Apple CEO Tim Cook issued a memo this week, stating: “I believe America is strongest when we live up to our highest ideals, when we treat everyone with dignity and respect no matter who they are or where they’re from, and when we embrace our shared humanity."
The cultural revolt is growing day by day and threatens to undermine Trump’s grip on power ahead of the midterm elections.
However, there is one celebrity who hasn’t been able to read the room or concern herself with (at the very least) the optics of endorsing a man whose policies have led to multiple tragedies: rap artist Nicki Minaj.
The Grammy-nominated star attended a Treasury Department-hosted summit in Washington DC yesterday, an event to launch “Trump Accounts” - a child investment bank account for newborns. She pledged to contribute between $150,000 to $300,000 to fund the initiative and previously posted on X that it was the “true meaning of paying it forward. Early financial literacy & financial support for our children will give them a major head start in life.”
Fair enough. However, she told the crowd at yesterday’s event: “I will say that I am probably the president’s No. 1 fan.”
She added that her support for Trump is not likely to waiver despite the “hate” from critics.
“The hate or what people have to say, it does not affect me at all. It actually motivates me to support him more, and it’s going to motivate all of us to support him more,” said Minaj. “We’re not going to let them get away with bullying him and the smear campaigns. It’s not going to work, OK? He has a lot of force behind him, and God is protecting him,” she added.
Trump expressed his own praise for Minaj, referring to her as the “greatest and most successful female rapper in history”. Doja Cat, Foxy Brown, Lauryn Hill and Missy Elliott would likely care to disagree on that point. Trump also thanked Minaj for donating “hundreds of thousands of dollars” into the Trump accounts.
Trump, who was seen holding hands with Minaj, told the audience, in reference to the rapper’s nails: “I’m going to let my nails grow because I love those nails. I’m going to let those nails grow.”
Minaj also managed to bag a $1 million Trump Gold Card “free of charge” and posted about it on her social media accounts.
According to the official website, the card is “a visa based upon an individual's ability to provide a substantial benefit to the United States” and allegedly gives a fast-track to US citizenship. Something which should come in handy, as Minaj said on TikTok in 2024 that she wasn’t a US citizen, having arrived in the US from Trinidad and Tobago as a little girl.
Yesterday's event was Minaj’s latest show of support for MAGA, one in a long line of steps that has seen the artist turn towards populist rhetoric.
She has praised Vice President JD Vance, reshared White House TikToks promoting Trump, and recently appeared at a Turning Point USA event.
Last month, Minaj joined Erika Kirk, widow of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk, for the gathering of ultra-conservative youth in Phoenix, Arizona. She said: “I have the utmost respect and admiration for our president. (...) This government is full of people with heart.”
She added that Trump was “handsome” and “dashing”, sharing her admiration for both Trump and Vance, who she described as having “a very uncanny ability to be someone that you relate to.”
Her comments were a far cry from 2018 Minaj, who called out the separation of families at the border during Trump’s first administration, or 2020 Minaj, who declared during the Pollstar Live Conference that she was “not gonna jump on the Trump bandwagon.”
Instead of jumping, she now seems to be leading.
Minaj’s turn towards right-wing politics and her continued support for MAGA has led to her cultural clout taking a mighty blow and her fans – known as “Barbz” - to move on.
They have been unfollowing her on social media and accused her of betraying the LGBTQ+ community, one of Trump's recurring targets, in order to gain publicity or political favour.
“Nicki Minaj has been problematic more than once, but her direct support for Trump, betraying the community that supported her, is the last straw,” wrote one of her fans, alongside with a video of him removing the artist's LPs from his record collection and binning the records.
Even Grok got in on it, highlighting some irony inherent to Minaj's support...
Earlier this month, several Change.org petitions even called for Minaj’s deportation to Trinidad and Tobago. These petitions, many of which coincided with Minaj’s appearance at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest alongside Erika Kirk, amassed hundreds of thousands of signatures.
“Deporting Nicki Minaj back to Trinidad would serve as a reminder that public figures need to be accountable for their words and the broader impact they have on diverse communities,” Tristan Hamilton, who began the most viral petition, wrote on the website. “It’s not just about one person’s fall from grace; it’s about holding everyone to a standard of compassion and consistency, especially when they possess significant influence.”
Regardless on your stance regarding Minaj and her support for Trump, yesterday’s event has rubbed people up the wrong way, as it comes off as tone-deaf and disrespectful in the wake of the tragedies which took place in Minnesota this month.
Renee Good, 37, was fatally shot by ICE agent Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis on 7 January. Her death triggered mass protests across the country. Alex Pretti, also 37, was killed on 24 January by an officer who shot him 10 times in a few seconds. Pretti had been part of the peaceful protests unfolding in the wake of Good’s death.
Minaj has (unwittingly?) become part of an insensitive stunt which harms her already dwindling reputation and is completely at odds with the concerns of her fellow celebrities.
The cultural revolt against Trump continues, and reflects a growing discontentment with his administration. Even before Pretti's death last Saturday, public opinion was turning against Trump on immigration.
According to an AP-NORC poll conducted Jan. 8-11, shortly after the death of Renee Good, just 38 per cent of US adults approve of how Trump is handling immigration - down from 49 per cent in March 2025. Trump’s approval among self-described Republicans also fell from 88 per cent in March to 76 per cent in January.
A separate Fox News poll, which was conducted Friday through Monday, found that 59 per cent of voters described ICE as “too aggressive" - a 10-point increase since last July.
