Donald Trump has weighed in on the idea of Nicki Minaj taking over the White House podium, and he didn’t shut it down. “That’s a good idea. I think I’ll have to think about that,” the president said, according to TMZ.
The comment came during an interview with political commentator Benny Johnson. Trump stopped well short of offering her the job, and in the same breath he floated Johnson himself for the role, per Parade.
So for now, nobody is handing Minaj a briefing room schedule. But the fact that Trump is entertaining it at all pulls a suggestion from his own staff into a much bigger conversation.
The whole thing started with a video from White House communications director Steven Cheung, posted October 25. In it, Cheung quizzed Minaj aboard Air Force One about the economy, polling and how hard Trump was working on the campaign trail.
Cheung then floated her for the press secretary gig in the message he posted with the clip. Minaj was on the plane heading to a Michigan rally with Trump, and she spent the exchange praising the hours he was putting in.
She reshared Cheung’s post and explained why she’s backing him. Minaj pointed to his business background, saying the way he recovered from financial problems gave her confidence he could manage the country’s finances. She also talked up his stamina and his efforts to get other Republicans elected.
Not everyone found the idea charming. California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office responded to the staff chatter with a short jab: “We can only pray.”
That reply landed before Trump gave his own answer, so it was aimed at the staff suggestion rather than the president’s comments. Still, it shows how quickly the Minaj talk has turned into another round of political sniping.
For anyone who hasn’t been tracking it, Minaj’s ties to the administration go back further than one flight. In September she appeared alongside Small Business Administration chief Kelly Loeffler during an interview with Laura Ingraham, as AllHipHop previously reported.
She also signed on as a judge for the Million Dollar Pitch Competition, sitting alongside Grant Cardone and Airbnb cofounder Joe Gebbia. The contest offered a $1 million prize.
At the October 25 rally in Port Huron, Michigan, Minaj urged voters to back Republican candidates ahead of the November 3 midterms. She also pledged to support Trump if he ran again.
That puts one of rap’s biggest names squarely inside a political operation, not just cheering from the sidelines. Trump says he’ll think about the job. What he decides, and how Minaj responds if the offer ever becomes real, is the part everyone is now waiting on.
