Nicki Minaj told Christians to wake up during her appearance at the X Takeover in Austin, Texas, on Saturday, and she said churches should be talking about elections.
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“Christians as a whole need to wake up,” Minaj told the crowd. Then she went further: “The elections should be incorporated into what they’re preaching at church.”
The X Takeover is a fan event organized by the Tesla Owners Silicon Valley club. This year it moved to Tesla’s Giga Texas factory, the company’s headquarters, the first time the gathering has left California. Maye Musk, Elon Musk’s mother, delivered the keynote, and Nicki Minaj appeared as a special guest and held a meet and greet on site.
Saturday’s message is not new for her. During Grammys weekend in February, she posted on X that “Any Christian who votes democrat again is a fool,” pointing to anti ICE protesters who disrupted a worship service at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. In August, she endorsed Florida Rep. Byron Donalds in his run for governor and called herself Trump’s “No. 1 fan.” Her ties to Musk have grown alongside her politics. She appeared on a SpaceX launch webcast and later thanked him on X for “saving free speech.
Her call to bring elections into the sermon comes after the rules on that changed. For decades, a 1954 tax law called the Johnson Amendment barred churches and other tax exempt nonprofits from endorsing or opposing political candidates. A church that broke the rule risked losing its tax exempt status, which means it could start owing taxes like a business. In July 2025, the IRS said in a court filing that pastors who endorse candidates from the pulpit should not have to risk that status. The filing was part of a proposed settlement of a lawsuit brought by the National Religious Broadcasters and two Texas churches.
Most Christians have not been on board with politics from the pulpit. A 2019 Pew Research Center survey found 70 percent of Christians said clergy should not endorse candidates during services. Black Protestants were less likely to object, though a majority, 55 percent, still opposed it.
The midterm elections are November 3.
