“We don’t want our children to be bombarded with sex changes, right? We don’t want that for our children. We want people to leave the children alone,” rapper Nicki Minaj recently told an audience at a Michigan political rally. She also declared, “President Trump, it is an honor to stand with you every single time, and I will continue to support you forever and ever.”
Those statements became the focus of a heated discussion on the podcast “The Don Lemon Show,” where Lemon, journalist Jemele Hill, Army veteran and content creator RaeShanda Lias, and physician Dr. Frita examined Minaj’s political transformation and its implications for LGBTQ+ fans.
Minaj’s embrace of President Donald Trump marks a significant change from her earlier public support for LGBTQ+ rights. In 2019, she withdrew from a planned performance in Saudi Arabia, citing support for women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights and freedom of expression.
Hill sharply criticized Minaj’s political alignment, arguing that the rapper had benefited from Black and queer audiences while associating herself with a movement whose policies many LGBTQ+ advocates oppose.
Lias, whose oldest son is a transgender man, was equally critical of Minaj. “She has always been a bully. Now she has aligned herself with a bully,” Lias said, expressing frustration with Minaj’s comments about transgender youth and her alignment with Trump.
During the news podcast Frita challenged the suggestion that gender-affirming surgery is widespread among children. Citing research she described from the Journal of the American Medical Association, she argued that such procedures are extremely uncommon among minors and that firearm deaths and inadequate health insurance deserve far more attention.
Hill also questioned the political fixation on transgender people, challenging the notion that schools routinely arrange gender-transition procedures without parental knowledge. “Who in their right mind would believe American public schools, which are struggling to exist, would even consider or be able to afford to do such a thing,” she asked. “That’s just ridiculous.”
The panel’s discussion took another unexpected turn when it addressed the possibility of Minaj becoming the next White House press secretary.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung fueled speculation on October 25 by posting a video of himself interviewing Minaj aboard Air Force One. “Ladies and gentlemen, I think we may have found the new White House Press Secretary!” he wrote on X, tagging Minaj.
Minaj responded by sharing the post with an American flag and a grinning face with sweat emoji, but did not explicitly confirm whether she was interested in the position. The White House’s suggestion attracted further attention after the brief tenure of Press Secretary Katie Zacharia. However, no official appointment or confirmed selection of Minaj was announced.
The possibility also became a point of sarcastic commentary during Lemon’s discussion. One guest joked about the prospect, while the conversation returned to the broader concerns surrounding Minaj’s political shift and her remarks about transgender Americans.
For the panelists, the controversy illustrated the tensions between Minaj’s former image as an LGBTQ+ ally and her increasingly public support for Trump and his political movement. The general consensus among them was that her alliance with Trump has left her with a career in tatters.
This story is brought to you by Rosedale Health and Wellness and Dudley’s Place.
