El-Sayed and Rogers remain locked in a tight Michigan race
BBC News reported that Nikki Minaj joined Donald Trump on stage at a Republican rally in Port Huron, Michigan, on Sunday, urging voters to elect the party’s candidates ahead of the nationwide midterms. The Trinidad and Tobago-born rapper said Trump had “changed the energy of the country.” After Trump praised her figure and called her to the stage to speak, Minaj said, “He’s given us a future to look forward to.”
The appearance came with just over a week to go before the 3 November midterms. Republican Mike Rogers and Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed were locked in a tight Michigan race, BBC News reported.
Minaj wore a gold-coloured Gucci-branded suit and led the crowd in chanting Trump’s name and the names of Republican candidates in Michigan. “We really need all these great people to be elected, because this is a major turning point for our country,” she said.
Earlier in his speech, Trump praised the rear end of one male Republican candidate before turning the crowd’s attention to Minaj. “By the way, I looked at a beautiful ass before,” he said. “Nikki Minaj. That’s hard to miss.” He asked her to “stand up” as the crowd cheered and said he hoped she was not “insulted” by his remark.
As Minaj left the stage, Trump said, “She never looked more beautiful.” He added, “She gets it. She’s smart.”
Minaj accompanied Trump to Michigan aboard Air Force One. On the president’s plane, she filmed a video with an aide that was posted to X, with Minaj pretending to interview for the White House press secretary role. The position was open after Katie Zacharia left the role five days after her public debut.
Minaj has called herself Trump’s “number one fan” despite criticizing some of his policies during his first term. She had also supported Trump a few times before, including on his allegations that Christians face persecution in Nigeria and his “gold card” visa, which offers applicants residency and a path to US citizenship.
In his Sunday remarks, Trump focused on El-Sayed’s Muslim faith and background, alleging that El-Sayed would “invite jihadists” into America if he won. El-Sayed criticized similar remarks as Islamophobic.
In an advertisement to voters last week, El-Sayed said Trump “thinks he can use my name and my faith to distract us from the suffering his policies are inflicting on us at the pump, at the grocery store, and at the doctor’s office.”
Former President Barack Obama held a rally with El-Sayed on Saturday, one of the first in the cycle for the Democratic candidate, while Democrats were also holding campaign events. Close elections on 3 November will decide which party controls Congress for the rest of Trump’s presidency.