With Florida’s Republican gubernatorial primary two days out, Nicki Minaj endorsed Rep. Byron Donalds on Saturday, quote-tweeting his campaign video and telling her fanbase: “You have my vote. Barbz please support him however you can. #TheGoodGuys.” Donalds, the Trump-endorsed frontrunner, thanked her directly on X.
The endorsement is the latest step in a political realignment Minaj has been building publicly since early 2026. In January, she appeared alongside President Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at a Washington summit launching “Trump Accounts,” a new child investment program, pledging between $150,000 and $300,000 to fund accounts for her fans. “I am probably the president’s No. 1 fan, and that’s not going to change,” she said at the event. “The hate or what people have to say, it does not affect me at all. It actually motivates me to support him more.”
The Backlash Was Real, Just Not About This
Minaj’s political turn has come with real consequences. A Change.org petition calling for ICE to review her immigration status — she’s a green card holder, not a citizen — gathered more than 50,000 signatures, part of a wider set of petitions that topped 120,000 signatures combined. That backlash was triggered by comments she made at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest conference in December, where she said “boys will be boys” in a discussion about gender and LGBTQ issues alongside Erika Kirk — not, as some coverage has conflated, her broader support for Trump generally.
Why the Endorsement Matters More Than One Vote
Minaj can’t legally cast a ballot in the race herself, which critics have been quick to point out. But that misses what a celebrity endorsement like this actually does in 2026: it’s not about one vote, it’s about reach. Donalds already holds a commanding lead in the primary — a James Madison Institute poll from August 6 had him at 49% against Lt. Gov. Jay Collins’ 18%, former House Speaker Paul Renner’s 8%, and businessman James Fishback’s 4% — but Minaj’s endorsement puts his campaign directly in front of millions of younger voters who wouldn’t otherwise encounter a gubernatorial primary in their feed.
What do you think? Do celebrity endorsements like this meaningfully move primary elections, or is the attention mostly symbolic? Let us know your thoughts in the comments on BeezLoop.com!
