Over the weekend, Nicki Minaj joined Erika Kirk on stage at a festival hosted by Turning Point USA.
Some of Nicki’s fans were surprised to learn that she’s a member of the MAGA movement, but she’s been hinting at that affiliation on social media for quite some time.
So it wasn’t a total shock when Nicki heaped praise on Trump — but just about everyone was caught off guard when Minaj jokingly referred to JD Vance as an “assassin” while speaking with Erika Kirk.
Nicki Minaj stuns crowd with ‘assassin’ remark
“Dear young men, you have amazing role models like our handsome, dashing president, and you have amazing role models like the assassin, JD Vance, our vice president,” Minaj said at one point.
Kirk, of course, is the widow of Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed during a speaking engagement in Utah in September.
In other words, she probably doesn’t consider “assassin” to be a cool, funny compliment.
Realizing her error, Nicki groaned and went silent, prompting Erika to jump in and try to manage the awkwardness.
“Trust me, there’s nothing new under the sun that I have not heard, so you’re fine… I love you. You have to laugh about it truly,” Kirk said with a laugh, adding:
“You say what you want to say, because I know your heart and I will not judge that.”
The crowd seemed unsure of how to react, with some chuckling at the bizarre moment and others, seemingly, going silent.
The White House later reposted a different segment of the conversation, in which Minaj remarked:
“I have the utmost respect and admiration for our president.”
“My darling, you did it. We’re good. Love you,” Nicki commented on the clip, seemingly referring to herself.
As many have pointed out, Minaj’s awkward moment wasn’t the only time that a prominent figure misspoke at the Turning Point fest.
“Despite the devastating loss of Charlie Kirk, my incredible husband, at UVU, Caleb has persisted with the same grift, excuse me, grit,” Erika Kirk remarked while praising a young conservative who had been brought on stage.
The comment came on the heels of accusations that Erika has been grifting her followers to amass fame and fortune in the wake of her husband’s death.
These are obviously just flubs, but it’s not hard to see why these two moments quickly went viral.
As for Nicki, it’s certainly not her first problematic comment of the year.
Sure, she might lose some fans after affirming her support for Trump. But the diehards who stuck by Nicki after she married a convicted sex offender and again after she supported her brother who has been convicted of child rape?
Those folks will probably remain in her corner.