Nicki Minaj Says She's "Not Going Anywhere" After Trump Calls Her His "Favorite"

Nicki Minaj says she is "not going anywhere" after President Donald Trump called her his "favorite" during an Oval Office meeting in the week of October 20. She made the comment on X on Tuesday, October 20, and Billboard reported that Trump said she had "been with me a long time."

A video of the moment, showing Trump describing her as he watched her walk into the Oval Office, was shared by an X user and sparked debate online. Minaj has been open about her support for the president for months. In January she joined Trump on stage at the kickoff of a daylong Trump Accounts summit, where she called herself his "number one fan," according to AP video.

Her ties to the administration go further than appearances. She served as a judge in the Million Dollar Pitch Competition, a small-business contest with a $1 million prize, alongside Grant Cardone and Airbnb cofounder Joe Gebbia. In September 2025, on Fox News's The Ingraham Angle, she said she was honoured to work with the administration and called Trump fun. In December 2025 she made a surprise appearance at a conservative gathering in Arizona, where she praised Trump and Vice President JD Vance and mocked California Governor Gavin Newsom, calling him "New-scum," a nickname Trump gave him, AP reported.

The political debate has also reached her past collaborators. Cyndi Lauper, whose 1983 hit "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" was sampled on Minaj's "Pink Friday Girls" in 2023, told The Guardian she does not regret working with Minaj. Lauper said she does not believe in cancellation, the practice of pulling support from people after they say or do something objectionable. People also reported the remarks.

That collaboration was a sample clearance, meaning Lauper gave permission for a short piece of her original recording to be reused in a new song. Minaj's most recent album, Pink Friday 2, came out in December 2023 and topped the Billboard 200, the weekly chart that ranks the most popular albums in the United States.

For fans following the story, the most recent word comes from Minaj herself. Her X post and Trump's Oval Office remarks are the two statements at the centre of the latest back and forth, and the public reaction to both is still unfolding.