Nicki Minaj went on Fox News Friday night and made it clear she is not backing off her support for Donald Trump. Appearing on “The Ingraham Angle” alongside Small Business Administration head Kelly Loeffler, the rapper said she is honored to work with the Trump administration and described Trump as smart, fun and grounded.
When Laura Ingraham asked what she says to people who criticize her partnership with the administration, Nicki kept it short: “Absolutely nothing.”
Then she explained why. Nicki said every time she sees Trump, he is just himself, that it is easy to connect with him, and that he makes people feel heard and understood. “I just love him,” she said. “And I’m not going to ever make excuses for that.”
She did draw one line. Nicki said fans should not expect her to turn her next tour into a political rally.
The reason Nicki was on the show in the first place is the SBA’s Million Dollar Pitch Competition, which held its finale Friday in Washington. The SBA is the federal agency that supports small businesses through loans, grants and training, and it set up the competition as part of Freedom 250, the Trump administration’s celebration of the country’s 250th birthday. Think Shark Tank, but run by the government. Five small businesses pitched to a celebrity panel for a share of $1 million, with $400,000 going to first place and the rest split down to $75,000 for fifth. The prize money was put up by Clover, the payment company, not taxpayers.
Nicki judged alongside real estate investor Grant Cardone and Airbnb cofounder Joe Gebbia, with actor Dean Cain as host. The five finalists were Compotech, a defense technology company from Brewer, Maine; Winton Machine of Suwanee, Georgia; Plas-Tech Tooling of Garner, Iowa; Red River of Gillette, Wyoming; and VetPowered of San Diego. When the SBA announced her as a judge last month, Nicki posted on X that it was a “major, MAJOR KEY.”
Friday’s interview is the latest chapter in a turn that has divided the Barbz. Nicki was once openly critical of Trump, rapping in 2016, “Island girl, Donald Trump want me go home.” By November 2025, she was publicly thanking him for his threats against Nigeria’s government over violence against Christians. A month later, she appeared at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest with Erika Kirk. In January, she stood onstage with Trump at a Treasury Department event and called herself “probably the president’s No. 1 fan,” and she has said she received his gold card, the fast track residency program that normally costs $1 million, free of charge. In February, Trump returned the love at the White House Black History Month reception, telling the room, “I love Nicki Minaj.”
On Katie Miller’s podcast, Nicki said she started backing Trump because she could not stand to watch him be bullied, comparing the smear campaigns against him to what she says she has faced for years.
Nicki Minaj has made it plain she does not plan to explain herself to anybody. Friday night, she said as much on national television.
