Pinkprint Puppetry: Nicki Minaj Deepens Her Loyalty To MAGA By Judging Trump-Backed Business Reality Show

Last updated: September 1, 2026 3:31 pm

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Nicki Minaj to judge Trump’s Million Dollar Pitch Competition, drawing criticism from fans.
Minaj celebrates being part of Trump’s initiative to support small businesses.
Minaj’s relationship with Trump has rubbed many of her fans the wrong way.

Nicki Minaj is only going deeper with her loyalties to Donald Trump and his administration.

President Trump Delivers Remarks During The Treasury Department's Trump Accounts Summit At Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium — Source: Win McNamee / Getty

The rapper-turned-political-pawn is drawing criticism online after linking up with Trump once again, this time joining a new business competition backed by his administration. Minaj is set to serve as one of the judges for the Small Business Administration’s Million Dollar Pitch Competition in Washington, D.C., on September 18.

According to reports from Fox News, the event will feature five entrepreneurs, all competing for their share of a $1 million prize pool. Nicki will be tasked with judging the finalists alongside Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia and private equity fund manager Grant Cardone. Actor Dean Cain with be the host of the competition.

Once the contestants make their pitches, the finalists will be judged on several factors including American competitiveness, economic impact, business fundamentals and job creation. The first-place winner will receive $400,000, the second-place winner will get $250,000, and the third-place winner will receive $150,000.

While the description of the series sounds a lot like the MAGA recreation of Shark Tank, the competition has also been compared to Donald Trump’s former reality show, The Apprentice.

Minaj took to X to celebrate her latest Trump venture, gloating about being apart of another initiative backed by the Trump Administration.

“This is a major, MAJOR KEY. Sooooooooooo looking forward to this!!!” She wrote on the social media platform. “Imagine being a part of the Trump Administration’s initiative to support small businesses. Let’s GO.”

This is just Nicki Minaj’s latest link to Trump and his team, which comes as her relationship with the President has rubbed a lot of her fans the wrong way. The convicted felon has publicly praised Nicki on multiple occasions; Most recently, at a White House Rose Garden Lunch, he called her “so respected and so hot and so great,” before also describing her as a “great friend.”

This announcement also comes after Trump made headlines for a risqué joke about the rapper at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner.

While looking back at the original April dinner that was interrupted by a shooting scare, Trump mocked how Minaj may have reacted.

“After hearing the gunshots, many people yelled, ‘Get down! Get down!’ Which caused Nicki Minaj to start twerking,” Trump joked. “Can you believe it? Get down… She’s the only one that really understood what that meant.”