Nicki Minaj Makes Surprise Appearance With Erika Kirk at AmericaFest

The musician attended a Q&A session with the Turning Point USA CEO on Dec. 21.

Nicki Minaj (R) speaks with Erika Kirk (L) at Turning Point USA's AmericaFest in Phoenix on Dec. 21, 2025. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

Rapper Nicki Minaj made a surprise appearance during AmericaFest, Turning Point USA’s annual convention, in Phoenix on Dec. 21.

Minaj walked out on stage for a Q&A session with Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk, who took the reins of the conservative nonprofit organization founded by her late husband Charlie Kirk after he was assassinated on Sept. 10.

“Those of you who know, Charlie was very good at having a surprise for every AMFest,” Kirk said ahead of the discussion in Phoenix with the 12-time Grammy-nominated rapper on Sunday.

Kirk opened their discussion by having the “Starships” vocalist recite her former X posts that criticized Gavin Newsom, the Democratic governor of Minaj’s home state of California, including policies he supported such as restricting parental notification of students’ gender identity, and then opened the floor for her to “riff.”

Rumors that Minaj would attend the event—the largest annual conference hosted by TurningPoint USA and the first held since Charlie Kirk was killed—had been swirling, but nothing was confirmed until she made her appearance onstage Sunday.

​The songstress also made clear that she wasn’t just opposing Newsom—but also backing President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

“I love both of them,” Minaj said.

During the conversation between the two women, Kirk smoothed over an awkward moment that occurred after Minaj used the term “assassin” with a positive intonation.

“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 before apparently recognizing what she had said, lowering the microphone, and covering her mouth in a gesture of embarrassment.

Kirk quickly came to Minaj’s rescue after the remark.

“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 told Minaj. “You say what you want to say, because I know your heart and I will not judge that.”

The rapper’s surprise appearance at the Phoenix-based conference is only the latest foray by Minaj into politics.

Recently, Minaj has been increasingly vocal about the ongoing persecution of Christians in Nigeria, a nation split between Christians and Muslims.

Incidents involving assaults, kidnappings, and murders of Christians—particularly in the northern region of the West African nation—have spiked recently, drawing Western attention to the region.

In early December, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the United States would restrict travel into the country for any Nigerians involved in these atrocities.

Minaj has praised the administration’s actions.

In November, Minaj reposted a screenshot of a Trump post on Truth Social in which the president referenced the situation in Nigeria.

“Reading this made me feel a deep sense of gratitude. We live in a country where we can freely worship God. No group should ever be persecuted for practicing their religion,” Minaj wrote in an X post at the time.

“We don’t have to share the same beliefs in order for us to respect each other. Numerous countries all around the world are being affected by this horror & it’s dangerous to pretend we don’t notice.”