Nicki Minaj has never been one to shy away from a polarizing headline, but her latest pivot into the MAGA spotlight is leaving fans more confused than ever.
After appearing at the Trump Accounts summit this week, the Trinidadian-born star, who has openly admitted to entering the U.S. illegally as a child, decided to flex a “Trump Gold Card” on social media. The move has sparked a massive wave of backlash, with many questioning why she is now touting a program designed for the ultra-wealthy to buy their way into American citizenship, calling the move tone deaf.
The card in question isn’t just a membership to a club; it represents a fast-track residency program for those willing to drop a $1 million donation into the US Treasury along with a $15,000 non-refundable processing fee. While Nicki initially claimed on social media that she received her “Gold Trump card free of charge,” the actual legal weight of the card is being called into question by the very administration she’s supporting.
On Friday, a White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, burst her bubble by clarifying that the card is essentially a “memento” rather than a legitimate legal visa document.
The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on critics or immigration experts. According to reports, Nicki has already been a legal permanent resident for roughly 20 years and was already in the final stages of petitioning for her citizenship. As the official pointed out, the rapper was well past the point of needing an expensive immigration fast-track, making the souvenir gold card essentially a high-profile paperweight.
For a star who once rapped about the struggles of her roots, the sight of her flaunting a “pay-to-play” path to status while the country faces heightened ICE crackdowns has many of her “Barbz” feeling like the joke is on them.
