Rapper Nicki Minaj continued her descent into MAGA-land over the weekend, joining Erika Kirk at the Turning Point USA conference in Phoenix, Arizona.
The four-day conference hosted by the right-wing youth activism group founded by Charlie Kirk featured many conservative speakers, including Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk; Ben Shapiro; Tucker Carlson; Megyn Kelly; and Vice President JD Vance.
The event was filled with viral moments, including one where Kirk was talking to a student named Caleb when she had an unfortunate Freudian slip.
"Despite the devastating loss of Charlie Kirk, my incredible husband, at UVA, Caleb has persisted with the same grift," she said, before changing her wording to "gift" and then "grit."
However, many of the conference's most astounding moments come from guest speaker Nicki Minaj. The rapper, who was once a beloved figure in the queer community and has voiced support for the LGBTQ+ community, has been effusive in her praise for President Donald Trump lately, and continued her praise at the conference.
As her appearance at the conference makes its rounds on social media, so is a resurfaced video of Charlie saying that Minaj is "not a good role model" for young Black women.
He also wrote about Minaj in a post on X, where he said: "Democrats' treatment of Nicki Minaj should be all the proof you need that they don't care about Black people, especially those they can’t control." The post continues and says, "They just use them every four years for their votes. But people are waking up."
Here are six of the wildest moments that took place during Minaj's appearance at the conference.
"Super Bass"
As Minaj joined the recently-widowed wife of the slain political commentator on stage, the speakers played one of Minaj’s classic hits, "Super Bass." It was a bizarre start to a particularly uncomfortable conversation between the two women.
"New Scum" tweets
Kirk had Minaj read some of her transphobic and anti-Gavin-Newsom tweets out loud on stage. One of the tweets included the rapper’s critique of the California governor for saying he wants to "see trans kids."
"Imagine being the guy running on wanting to see trans kids. Haha. Not even a trans ADULT would run on that," Minaj read from her X post. "Normal adults wake up & think they want to see HEALTHY, SAFE, HAPPY kids."
Trump is "handsome"
"I have the utmost respect and admiration for our president. I don't know if he even knows this, but he's 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.
Later, when asked about male role models, she called Trump "our handsome, dashing president."
JD Vance is an "assassin"
When Minaj praised Trump as a positive role model for young men in America, she also mentioned the vice president.
"Young men, you have amazing role models like our handsome, dashing president, and you have amazing role models like the assassin JD Vance, our vice president," she said to Kirk, whose husband, Charlie Kirk, was assassinated murdered by an assassin's bullet while he was speaking at Utah Valley University.
"And when I say that... mmm," Minaj said, before going uncharacteristically silent.
"Trust me, there's nothing new under the sun that I have not heard. So you're fine," Kirk replied, as Minaj continued to be silent.
"If the internet wants to clip it, who cares?" Kirk continued. "I love Nicki. She's an amazing woman. She has a soul and a heart, and it doesn't even matter."
Christians being "persecuted" in America
Minaj and Kirk discussed the issue of Christians in Nigeria, which Minaj has previously praised Trump for. She went even further, saying that America will “speak up for Christians wherever they are in the world," and that conservatives need to watch out for politicians who won't stand up for Christians.
She said that "prior administrations saw nothing wrong" with Christians being persecuted, "and that's what's wrong with them."
"I truly feel that there are people out there who felt good about chastising Christians right here in our country. And it’s kind of really, really sick," Minaj said. "We can't let people like that be in power, you guys.That's the truth. I can sugarcoat it and laugh and tee-hee, but the truth is, I am here today to tell you guys that we absolutely cannot let people who have a problem with us worshipping God… we cannot have them in power."
"Boys, be boys"
Minaj explained that she is sad that "other children" than Black girls are being told "not to be proud of themselves."
"I don't need someone with blonde hair and blue eyes to downplay their beauty, because I know my beauty," she said.
She added that she thinks boys are being discouraged from being masculine.
"It’s OK. Be boys," she said. "There’s nothing wrong with being a boy… How powerful is that? How profound is that? Boys will be boys, and there’s nothing wrong with that."
