United States President, Donald Trump, has received support from rapper Nicki Minaj at a campaign rally in Michigan, United States, as Republicans intensify efforts to win the November 3 midterm elections.
Minaj, who joined Trump at the event on Sunday, praised his leadership, saying he had “changed the energy of the country”. She added, “He’s given us a future to look forward to,” after the president invited her to address the crowd.
The Trinidad and Tobago-born musician has previously described herself as Trump’s “number one fan”, although she has criticised some of his policies during his first term in office.
Her latest appearance adds to the celebrity support the president has received ahead of the elections, which will determine control of Congress for the remainder of his presidency.
At the rally in Port Huron, Michigan, Minaj, dressed in a gold-coloured Gucci-branded suit, led supporters in chanting Trump’s name and those of Republican candidates in the state.
“We really need all these great people to be elected, because this is a major turning point for our country,” she said.
Trump praised the rapper as she left the stage, saying, “She never looked more beautiful.” He added, “She gets it. She’s smart.”
Earlier in his speech, the president made a remark about the physical appearance of a male Republican candidate before turning his attention to Minaj.
“By the way, I looked at a beautiful ass before,” he said. “Nicki Minaj. That’s hard to miss.”
He subsequently asked her to stand up as the audience cheered, adding that he hoped she was not “insulted” by the comment.
Minaj travelled to Michigan aboard Air Force One with Trump.
During the journey, she recorded a video with an aide, pretending to interview for the position of White House press secretary. The video was later posted on X.
The position became vacant following Katie Zacharia’s departure five days after a difficult public debut.
Her appearance comes as political campaigns gather momentum ahead of the November 3 elections.
In Michigan, Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is locked in a closely contested race against Republican Mike Rogers. Former US President Barack Obama campaigned alongside El-Sayed on Saturday as Democrats stepped up efforts to secure victory.
During Sunday’s rally, Trump criticised El-Sayed’s Muslim faith and background, alleging that the Democratic candidate would “invite jihadists” into the United States if elected.
El-Sayed has condemned similar comments by Trump as Islamophobic. In a campaign advertisement last week, he accused the president of using his name and religion to divert attention from the economic difficulties Americans face.
“He thinks he can use my name and my faith to distract us from the suffering his policies are inflicting on us at the pump, at the grocery store, and at the doctor’s office,” El-Sayed said.
Minaj has previously aligned herself with Trump on several issues, including his allegations that Christians face persecution in Nigeria and his proposed “gold card” visa programme, which offers applicants residency and a pathway to US citizenship.
