“Finalizing that citizenship paperwork as we speak as per MY wonderful, gracious, charming President,” the rapper claimed after a public meeting with Trump.

Nicki Minaj flashes Trump Gold Card, claims she’s finalizing U.S. citizenship ‘free of charge’

"Finalizing that citizenship paperwork as we speak as per MY wonderful, gracious, charming President," the rapper claimed after a public meeting with Trump.

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

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January 29, 2026 8:56 a.m. ET

Nicki Minaj and President Donald Trump at the Trump Accounts Summit on Jan. 28, 2026. Credit:

Win McNamee/Getty

Nicki Minaj claims that her application for U.S. citizenship is getting the fast-track treatment thanks to President Donald Trump.

The "Starships" rapper, who has lately courted intense controversy for her unambiguous support for the conservative president, and sometimes offensive ways of expressing that support, took her Trump fandom to a new level on Wednesday.

Minaj appeared in Washington at the Trump Accounts Summit, the full-day launch of his new policy that plans to allocate $1,000 to every baby born in the country between 2025 and 2028. "I am probably the president's No. 1 fan, and that's not going to change," Minaj told the crowd. But she surprised fans even more when she got home, when she posted an image of a "Trump Gold Card" to X, the social media platform owned by close Trump ally Elon Musk.**

"Welp..." was all Minaj wrote in the caption of the post. But in a follow-up posted four hours later, Minaj elaborated that, thanks to the card, she was "finalizing that citizenship paperwork as we speak as per MY wonderful, gracious, charming President."

"Thanks to the petition. I wouldn't have done it without you," she continued. "Oh CitizenNIKA you are thee moment. Gold Trump card free of charge."

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Trump first laid out plans for his so-called "Gold Card" in a post shared to his Truth Social platform in June.

"FOR FIVE MILLION $DOLLARS, THE TRUMP CARD IS COMING!" he wrote. "The opportunity to live in the Greatest Country, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, with the largest Economy in the World, is here. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. THE WAITING LIST IS NOW OPEN."

The post concluded by directing to still-live website that explains how the proposed investor visa would theoretically work. "For a $15,000 DHS processing fee and, after background approval, a contribution of $1 million," applicants will be eligible to receive "U.S. residency in record time with the Trump Gold Card," the official government site explains.

The cards effectively grant successfully approved applicants permanent U.S. residency, operating in a similar fashion to the existing EB-5 immigrant investor visa program. As of December, Trump claimed that sales of his gold cards had already reached $1.3 billion.

* *did not immediately hear back from the White House for comment.

Erika Kirk and Nicki Minaj at Turning Point USA's AmericaFest conference in 2025.

Olivier Touron / AFP via Getty

Minaj has sparked backlash for her approving regard of the president, who has made violent persecution of immigrants a cornerstone of his domestic policy since taking office last January.

The rapper stated during a 2024 TikTok livestream, "I'm not a citizen of America. Isn't that crazy?" Born in Trinidad and Tobago, Minaj explained, "I've been in the States for many years. You would think that with the millions of dollars that I've paid in taxes to this country that I would have been given an honorary citizenship many, many, many thousands of years ago."

Minaj's history with Trump has been erratic. As he ramped up to a full-fledged presidential run in 2015, Minaj conceded that "there are points he has made that may not have been so horrible if his approach wasn’t so childish." But in 2018, she spoke out against his first term administration's family separation policy, claiming, "I came to this country as an illegal immigrant at 5 years old. I can't imagine the horror of being in a strange place and having my parents stripped away from me at the age of 5. This is so scary to me. Please stop this."**

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