Nicki Minaj responded with emojis after White House communications director Steven Cheung jokingly suggested she could become President Donald Trump's next press secretary, amplifying appointment rumors without confirming any offer or formal consideration for the job.
Cheung posted a mock interview with the rapper on X on October 25, asking about the economy, Trump's campaign schedule and polling. Minaj shared the clip with an American flag and a grinning face with sweat emoji, offering no further explanation.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I think we may have found the new White House Press Secretary! @NICKIMINAJ," Cheung wrote.
The exchange followed speculation circulated by the entertainment account @PopBase on October 19 and jokes about Minaj replacing Katie Zacharia. A Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon sketch also used the idea, but there has been no confirmed announcement that Minaj is joining the White House staff.
The New York Post reported that Cheung conducted the mock interview while traveling on Air Force One. Minaj used the exchange to praise Trump's business background and argue that his experience managing his finances qualified him to oversee the national economy.
She also portrayed him as an energetic campaigner working to help fellow Republicans, praising his long hours and saying he outworked people half his age.
In doing so, Minaj claimed Trump had won three elections. That assertion was inaccurate: he won the presidential elections in 2016 and 2024 but lost to Joe Biden in 2020.
Asked about polling, she invoked Hillary Clinton and alleged that unfavorable surveys were designed to discourage Republican participation.
"Let's ask Hillary Clinton how fake the fake polls are. We don't pay those polls any mind," Minaj said, according to the New York Post. She urged supporters to vote. The interview provided no evidence for her claim about pollsters' intentions.
Minaj also appeared alongside Trump at a Republican campaign rally in Michigan on Sunday, according to Mixmag. She told the audience that his return to office had restored optimism among supporters.
"So many people were maybe giving up a little bit, maybe a little bit hopeless," she said. "And since he's come back, he's changed the energy of our country and given us a future to look forward to."
The publicity has renewed attention to Minaj's immigration status, which remains publicly unconfirmed. Born in Trinidad and Tobago, she said during a September 2024 TikTok livestream that she was not an American citizen.
On January 28, 2026, she said she was completing citizenship paperwork after displaying a Trump-branded "gold card." A White House official subsequently told The New York Times that the card was a souvenir, rather than an official visa document.
That account contradicts Mixmag's description of the card as having granted her citizenship. As of October 26, Minaj had not publicly confirmed completing naturalization.
Her appearances with Trump extend back to the Trump Accounts Summit at Washington's Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium on January 28. At that event, she described herself as his "number one fan"; in Michigan on Sunday, she said she was honored to work with a president who "represents resilience."
