Overview
- President Donald Trump singled out Nicki Minaj during a Rose Garden Club Lunch, calling her “so respected and so hot” and asking her to stand while he spoke about administration priorities on Monday.
- Minaj posted photos and a selfie from the visit, including an Oval Office image captioned “#WhiteHouseBarbie,” and shared video clips of the Rose Garden event with her followers.
- The visit follows a string of high-profile appearances that tied Minaj to the administration’s Trump Accounts rollout, including a January Treasury summit where she publicly backed the program.
- Reports noted a previously shown gold-colored ‘Trump’ card was a keepsake rather than a legal immigration benefit and that Minaj already holds permanent resident status, undercutting claims the card changed her immigration standing.
- Coverage and public reaction split along partisan and cultural lines, with supporters celebrating the visibility, critics calling the president’s focus on her looks inappropriate, and many outlets framing the moment as an example of the White House using celebrity to amplify policy messaging.