Questions swirl as Nicki Minaj press secretary buzz raises thorny issue: report

Nicki Minaj’s appearance at President Donald Trump’s Michigan rally has fueled chatter about a White House job — and brought renewed attention to questions about the rapper’s U.S. citizenship, Newsweek reported.

The press secretary speculation began aboard Air Force One, where White House communications director Steven Cheung posted a video of Minaj answering questions about Trump as if she were a spokesperson.

But the possibility of a role in Trump’s MAGA administration isn’t the only question to emerge after Minaj’s appearance alongside the president. It has also revived questions about whether she is a U.S. citizen.

“The question carries new significance ahead of the November 3 midterm elections after Minaj urged support for Republican candidates, despite saying in 2024 that she was not an American citizen,” Newsweek reported Tuesday.

During a 2024 livestream, the Trinidad-born rapper spoke about her status and the taxes she had paid to the United States.

”I'm not a citizen of America. Isn't that crazy?” she said.

Minaj suggested her status could change in January, after appearing with Trump at an event prompting his administration’s Trump Accounts initiative, according to Newsweek’s report. She shared an image of a Trump Gold Card and wrote that she was “Finalizing that citizenship paperwork as we speak.”

Minaj said she received the card for free, but a White House spokesperson later told The Hill that it was a “memento,” not a visa document.

"No public confirmation currently shows that Minaj is a U.S. citizen," the outlet noted, leaving her current citizenship status unclear. Lawful permanent residents are not eligible to vote in federal elections unless they become U.S. citizens.

At Sunday’s rally in Port Huron, Michigan, Minaj praised Trump and called the midterms a “major turning point for our country."