I know you will be shocked to learn this, but unlike Ed, I am not an expert on popular culture. Ed makes so many cultural references that fly over my head that I feel like a 19th-century curmudgeon.
The truth is that I am a 20th-century curmudgeon, I suppose, but that is my charm. I’m sure of it.
So while I know a fair bit about Cardi B because she has inserted herself in politics, I know less about Nicki Minaj. I knew she was an American Idol judge through commercials, and when I looked her up just now, I learned she holds the record for the most Billboard Hot 100 entries by a woman across all genres.
I also recently saw her comments about Gavin Newsom, JD Vance, and President Trump, but I never expected to see her show up on the stage at a TPUSA event.
Nicki Minaj: Being at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest More Important than Any Concert I’ve Performed, Because Charlie Kirk’s Organization ‘Is a Direct Link Betweenhttps://t.co/OmRnhBHSQt pic.twitter.com/dNxDNehP6B
— Andrew Kolvet (@AndrewKolvet) December 21, 2025
But why should I care? After all, celebrities rarely influence their listeners to vote, despite far too much exposure to their idiotic political positions. It’s not like Taylor Swift or Cardi B carried Kamala Harris over the finish line.
The short answer is WHY Nicky Minaj has decided to come out as leaning conservative. It’s not because her political views will change the minds of millions of her young followers; it’s because she is speaking up about her deep attachment to Christianity.
“I’ve traveled the world. I’ve performed for huge crowds all around the world, and no matter how many songs I do on that stage, it didn’t mean as much as this, because this is a direct link between young people and God.,” Minaj said.
The “Super Bass” singer, who spoke at Turning Point USA’s 2025 AmericaFest on Sunday, went on to say that there has been “a lack” of God “in our media” and “in our everyday conversations.”
“You know, interestingly enough, Christians have been persecuted right here in our country in different ways,” she added. “So, when we talk about Nigeria and other countries, know that prior administrations saw nothing wrong with that.”
“And that’s what was wrong with that,” Minaj asserted.
“I truly feel that there are people out there who felt good about chastising Christians right here in our country,” the “Anaconda” singer continued, calling it “really sick.”
Celebrities’ influence stems from their status as cultural icons, and while politics is downstream from culture, getting people to vote for a particular individual who, in themselves, is the antithesis of cool is a tough sell. A kid might, for some reason, find Cardi B cool, but despite all the “Brat Summer” hype, Kamala Harris could never be made to seem cool to people.
But when a celebrity who is already seen as culturally cool pushes back against the cultural hostility to Christianity, it might just make a difference in the audience’s mind in a way that “vote for X” might not.
Nicki Minaj says being at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest is more important than any concert she’s ever performed.
“Because this is a direct link between young people and God.”
“People who have a problem with us worshiping God… we absolutely cannot have them power.” pic.twitter.com/A9IplWRCKR
— Alana Mastrangelo (@ARmastrangelo) December 21, 2025
After all, much of the hostility to Christianity stems from a cultural hostility to its values, and a sense that being Christian means you are like the Saturday Night Live “Church Lady.”
BREAKING: Nikki Minaj speaks out about Islamists persecuting Christians around the world.
“We will speak up for Christians wherever they are in this world!”
Nikki has more moral clarity on this subject than Tucker Carlson.
pic.twitter.com/Blmm65tnoB— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) December 21, 2025
Nikki Minaj is no church lady, that’s for sure. When she openly embraces God and embraces TPUSA not for its politics but for its cultural import, that may mean something.
🚨 BREAKING: Nicki Minaj just said the left needs to STOP putting down white people
Nicki says if black women felt put down in the past, “why would we want to do that to OTHER women?!”
“I don’t need someone with blonde hair and blue eyes to downplay their beauty, because I know… pic.twitter.com/zGxPLEMtdN
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) December 21, 2025
As significant as Charlie Kirk was as a political figure in the conservative movement, his actual influence was concentrated among the young because he spoke to them about their particular concerns in their own language. He was not a pundit, as so many others are, but became a fixture in the culture of college-age kids.
He was an intellectual, sure. But that was not his superpower, the way it would be for Ben Shapiro, who (sorry, Ben) was never cool. That’s not a knock on Ben in the least; their influence flows from different springs.
Does one appearance by a rap star at a conservative event signal a cultural shift? Of course not. But will it matter that Minaj is speaking out about her faith in God?
I suspect the answer is “Yes.”
