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Disparaging remarks about Nicki Minaj made by Charlie Kirk, the late conservative activist and founder of Turning Point USA, resurfaced after the rapper made a surprise appearance at the right-wing organization's annual event.
On Sunday (December 21), Minaj appeared onstage with Erika Kirk, the widow of the conservative figure and current CEO of Turning Point USA, for the organization's annual AmericaFest at the Phoenix Convention Center.
The rapper amplified her support for President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance, praising them as "role models" for young men.
“I have the utmost respect and admiration for our president," the rapper said, adding that Trump has given people hope “that there’s a chance to beat the bad guys and to win, and to do it with your head held high and your integrity intact.”
“I can relate to them when I hear them speak. I know that they’re one of us,” Minaj continued of the president and VP. “They haven’t lost touch of the world… they have the ability to still connect and be real and make us feel proud to be American.”
Minaj's appearance at the Turning Point USA event sparked backlash and confusion over the rapper aligning herself with an organization whose founder once disparaged her. Videos circulating on X show Kirk previously describing Minaj as “not a good role model" for young Black women.
“I don’t think that’s a good role model for 18-year-old Black girls. I don’t," Kirk said.
Others pointed out a 2021 post from Kirk, in which he suggested Democrats mistreated Minaj and predicted she would eventually align with Republicans.
“Democrats’ treatment of Nicki Minaj should be all the proof you need that they don’t care about Black people, especially those they can’t control,” Kirk wrote at the time. “They just use them every four years for their votes. But people are waking up.”
Conservative journalist Eric Daugherty reshared Kirk's post on X, writing that the Turning Point USA founder had “spotted Nicki Minaj’s movement toward the Right YEARS ago."
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