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Nicki Minaj, who once sang, “Island girl, Donald Trump want me go home”, in what was widely recognised as a takedown of the then-president-elect’s migrant-deporting rhetoric, has changed her tune.
Nine years later, the Trinidadian-born rapper has stunned fans by apparently coming out as a supporter of the president, most recently by backing him in an address to the United Nations.
Following a string of MAGA-supporting posts on social media, on Tuesday, Minaj threw her support behind Trump’s allegations of Christian persecution in Nigeria, saying she wanted to highlight “the deadly threat.”
The Trump administration’s military actions in the Caribbean are having a profound impact on Minaj’s home island of Trinidad. Minaj was born in Trinidad, her family moved to The Bronx in New York when she was five years old.
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Rap icon Nicki Minaj was just five years old when her family moved from Trinidad to New York City (AFP via Getty Images)
A series of lethal strikes on alleged “drug boats” off the coast of Venezuela, which critics have said amount to extrajudicial murder, is being acutely felt in Trinidad, just seven miles away from the Venezuelan coast at its closest point, with Trinidadians being among those killed and with bodies washing up on beaches.
The families of two men from Trinidad have demanded evidence to back up U.S. allegations that those killed were trafficking drugs.
Recent reports suggest the deadly U.S. strikes mean fishing off the coast of Trinidad is now considered to be increasingly dangerous by locals, with some saying the value of their catch has fallen as they’ve stayed closer to shore.
Introduced by Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations on Tuesday, Mike Waltz, Minaj thanked both him and Trump and said it was “an honor” to help highlight “the deadly threats faced by thousands of Christians in Nigeria”.
“I stand here as a proud New Yorker with a deep sense of gratitude that we live in a country where we can freely and safely worship God regardless of one’s creed, background, or politics,” she said.
“No group should ever be persecuted for practicing their religion, like I recently stated on social media. And we don’t have to share the same beliefs in order for us to respect each other.”
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Minaj on stage this year. ‘No group should ever be persecuted for practicing their religion,’ she told the UN this week (Getty Images for Live Nation)
Her intervention comes after Trump claimed Christianity faces an “existential threat” in Nigeria and reportedly instructed the Pentagon to prepare for potential military action in the West African nation.
However, experts and residents offer a more nuanced perspective, noting that while some attacks have targeted Christians, both Christians and Muslims – the two main religious groups in the country of more than 230 million people – have been victims of attacks by radical Islamists.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian government has dismissed accusations it is failing to safeguard Christians, which make up about 50 per cent of its population, from violence, expressing astonishment at Trump’s hint of possible U.S. military action.
“We are shocked that President Trump is mulling an invasion of our country,” presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga told CNN, following reports that the U.S. leader had directed the Pentagon to prepare for potential action.
Nigerian human rights advocate Bulama Bukarti disputed Trump’s view on the situation, saying the US president’s comments “reflect a dangerous oversimplification of Nigeria’s complex security crisis.”
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Trinidadian-US rapper Nicki Minaj is greeted by US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz (AFP via Getty Images)
This week, the U.S. carried out its 20th attack on alleged drug-running boats in the region, bringing the death toll from the strikes that began in September to 80.
The latest attacks, which also included two strikes on boats on Sunday, come as the Trump administration expands the U.S. military’s already significant presence in the region. The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, the nation’s most advanced and largest warship, is expected to arrive in the coming days after traveling from the Mediterranean Sea.
According to critics, the arrival of the warship is the latest sally from the U.S. as it seeks to intimidate Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who faces charges of narcoterrorism in the U.S.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the U.S. doesn’t recognize Maduro, who was widely accused of stealing last year’s election, as the leader of Venezuela and has called the government a “transshipment organization” that openly cooperates with those trafficking drugs toward the U.S.
In response, Maduro said the U.S. government is “fabricating” a war against him. Venezuela’s government this week touted a “massive” mobilization of troops and civilians to defend against possible U.S. attacks.
The Independent has contacted Nicki Minaj and Trinidad and Tobago’s embassy for comment.
