An insider from Trump’s circle who played a key role in introducing rapper Nicki Minaj to the MAGA movement is refuting allegations that her support for former President Donald Trump was a strategic move to secure pardons for her relatives.
On Monday, Alex Bruesewitz, a former Trump campaign aide known for connecting celebrities with the MAGA brand, publicly criticized Pop Crave. The platform had shared remarks made by Linda Perry of 4 Non Blondes regarding Minaj’s endorsement of Trump.
Perry implied that Minaj’s backing was driven by personal gain, suggesting she sought favors from the White House.
Bruesewitz countered these claims, labeling them as “disgusting and disgraceful” slander propagated by Democrats and Trump adversaries. He asserted that Minaj has never requested anything from the former President and has solely offered her support.
He further dismissed any suggestion that Minaj was motivated by self-interest as “total garbage.”
Bruesewitz reiterated his stance to the Wall Street Journal, which detailed Minaj’s evolution from a private conservative to a prominent figure within the MAGA sphere.
A pardon for family members has ‘never been brought up or even referenced by her or anybody,’ he told the paper.
Both Minaj’s brother and husband have been in legal trouble.
Rapper Nicki Minaj (left) poses with President Donald Trump (right) in January as the President touted ‘Trump Accounts’ through the Treasury Department
Rapper Nicki Minaj poses on the black carpet at the newly renamed Trump Kennedy Center for the premiere of the Melania documentary in late January
Her brother is serving a long prison sentence for child rape.
Her husband has previously served prison time for the attempted rape of a minor, but has more recently been on house arrest and probation.
White House officials pointed out to the Journal that the President’s pardon power wouldn’t extend to the state conviction of Minaj’s brother.
It appears that Minaj has been quietly conservative all along.
Friends told the paper that when Minaj was first starting her rap career, she leaned right.
In her 2012 song Mercy, she rapped: ‘I’m a Republican voting for Mitt Romney / You lazy b****es is f***ing up the economy.’
A year later, she name-dropped Trump in a song in a positive way, noting that she was ‘at the Trump’ while ‘you b****es at the Radisson.’
Of course, he wouldn’t launch his first presidential bid until two years later.
Rapper Nicki Minaj (right) gives Erika Kirk (left) a high five at a Turning Point USA event in Phoenix in December
Rapper Nicki Minaj (center) is photographed at the Trump Accounts event alongside Treasurey Secretary Scott Bessent (left) and MAGA celebrity whisperer Alex Bruesewitz (right)
Nicki Minaj (right) sits down with Katie Miller (left) for an episode of her conservative-leaning podcast. Miller is married to top Trump adviser Stephen Miller
During the first Trump administration, Minaj joined with other musicians and Hollywood types in condemning some of the administration’s policies, especially the separation of children and parents who crossed the southern border.
But the COVID-19 pandemic changed things.
Minaj got pounced on when she shared a story in 2021 claiming that a friend of her cousin in her native Trinidad had swollen testicles and was suffering from impotence after taking the COVID vaccine.
‘His friend was weeks away from getting married, now the girl called off the wedding,’ the rapper wrote, telling her fans, nicknamed ‘Barbz,’ to ‘pray on it’ before getting jabbed.
At the time, health ministers in Trinidad said they had received no reports of vaccine-related testicular swelling.
Minaj was accused of pushing COVID conspiracy theories.
In 2024, Minaj was introduced to Bruesewitz by model Amber Rose, the ex-girlfriend of rapper Kanye West, who spoke in support of Trump at the Milwaukee Republican National Convention.
Rose also connected Minaj with James Blair, a top Trump political adviser, who, late in the 2024 election cycle, tried to make the case to the rapper to officially endorse Trump, the Journal reported.
Nicki Minaj (center left) can be seen seated alongside allies of President Donald Trump for the screening of the documentary Melania at the newly renamed Trump Kennedy Center in January
Nicki Minaj enters the stage as a surprise guest at a Turning Point USA event in December
A person familiar with the matter told the paper that the campaign was trying to give black voters a ‘permission structure’ to vote for Trump, and believed endorsements from high-profile figures like Minaj would be a big help.
While Minaj was supportive of the President on the phone with Blair, the Journal said, she told the political operative that she needed to talk to others in her life for advice before going public with her politics.
Shortly before the election, Minaj also dialed Trump.
She wanted to let him know she was supporting his reelection, the Journal said, but her management team told her she needed to stay on the sidelines because an endorsement could impact her business interests.
