President Donald Trump presented Grammy-winning rapper Nicki Minaj with one of his $1 million "Gold Card" visas at a recent public event — or at least, that's how it appeared. But The New York Times reports there was much less to this than it seemed.
"She posted an image of a Trump 'gold card,' the expedited visa offered to those willing to pay $1 million," said the report. "But Ms. Minaj, who just hours before said she was Mr. Trump’s 'No. 1 fan,' suggested that she had not spent a dime. 'Welp...' Ms. Minaj posted alongside the image of the card bearing Mr. Trump’s face alongside the Statue of Liberty. 'Finalizing that citizenship paperwork as we speak as per MY wonderful, gracious, charming President,' added Ms. Minaj, who has said previously that she came to the United States illegally. 'I wouldn’t have done it without you.' And if that was not clear enough: 'Gold Trump card free of charge,' she wrote, alongside an image of the horror-film character Chucky giving the middle finger."
But the Trinidadian rapper, who already has legal residency, didn't actually get any status change out of this stunt, The Times reported: "Turns out, all Ms. Minaj got was a gold-colored card bearing Mr. Trump’s face. A White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe the gift, said the gold card was simply a 'memento' rather than a 'visa document.'"
During Trump's first term, Minaj was highly critical of the president's immigration policies, speaking out in particular about the family separation scheme.
In recent months, however, she has rebranded herself as a MAGA devotee, calling Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance "role models" for young men, and even attending a far-right Turning Point USA summit where she spoke with Charlie Kirk's widow. The White House has responded by lavishing her with praise.
The Trump "Gold Card" is essentially a slightly different version of a longtime program called the EB-5 immigrant investor visa, which grants residency to foreign investors who inject large amounts of money into the U.S. economy and create at least 10 jobs. The administration has suggested the Gold Card may ultimately replace this program outright.