Nicki Minaj stands up for Trump against ‘bullying,’ says she ‘couldn’t handle’ how he was being treated
Nicki Minaj credited President Donald Trump for inspiring her to jump out of her comfort zone.
In an exclusive clip from Katie Miller's podcast, the "Super Bass" singer explained how she "couldn't handle" witnessing Trump being the victim of "bullying" by the general public.
"Religious freedom is something that's very important to me," Minaj said when asked what issues specifically drew her into the conservative world. "But if I'm being honest, President Trump … because when I saw how he was being treated over and over and over, I just couldn't handle it."
She added, "I felt that same, you know, a lot of that bullying in this man's campaign, and all of the lying. I felt that that had been done to me for so many years, and I was watching it in real time happen to someone else, and I didn't think he deserved it. And it made me think, I can't do this anymore."
Minaj and Trump went viral Wednesday after they were photographed holding hands at the U.S. Treasury Department's Trump Accounts Summit. On social media, Minaj called herself Trump's "number one fan."
NICKI MINAJ CALLS HERSELF TRUMP'S ‘NO. 1 FAN’ AS HAND HOLDING MOMENT GOES VIRAL AT TREASURY EVENT
During the podcast interview, Minaj admitted her recent affinity for the political sphere isn't as new of a pursuit as it may appear.
"I think that people's steps are aligned," Minaj told Miller. "I used to always tell people this when I was growing up, but like, I had this strong premonition my whole life that I had a second job to do. And this was, by the way, this was before I even made it in rap."
The "Anaconda" musician confessed that there was still something inside of her that said she had "another thing to do" outside the industry, and practically manifested her entrance into the political forum.
"So actually, the first time I said it out loud or text it, it was during the last campaign, the presidential campaign, this last one, I saw something and I texted someone I knew right away, and I said, ‘This is a mistake,’" Minaj said.
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"I also said, ‘All of this is making me want to get into politics.’ So the last thing that really did it was me seeing certain things. The campaign … the presidential campaign, and knowing that I could help because the things I was saying, it was happening."
WATCH: NICKI MINAJ WAS INSPIRED TO JUMP INTO POLITICS AFTER WITNESSING TRUMP'S PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN
Minaj continued, "Like I was saying, ‘Oh, this is a bad idea,’ or, ‘This is a good idea’… and the things I was saying were coming to fruition."
While witnessing her words become actions in real time, the "Starships" singer was convinced "it was easy" to jump into politics.
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"It made me think, ‘Oh, this is probably, this is easy.’ I mean, if it's this easy, then maybe I should do it," Minaj said. "Then there was something that happened a few months ago that, if I wasn't going to do it before… something happened a couple months ago."
When asked to explain the incident, Minaj hesitated to give more details.
"I don't want to talk about it, but I'll say that sometimes people can push you so much that they push you all the way into your next calling, into your next blessing, into your next life," she said. "And that's what happened with me."
Miller's full interview with Minaj will air on Tuesday, Feb. 3, at 6 p.m. Eastern on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Rumble and X.