More numerous than during Donald Trump's first term, artists, actors and especially singers do not hesitate to show their support for the President of the United States.

Nicki Minaj, but also Snoop Dogg, Nelly... At the risk of confusing their fans, American artists are no longer hesitant to be seen with Donald Trump. While few were vocal during the American president's first term, hip-hop artists, in particular, are now flocking to his side.

Nicki Minaj has thus recently joined the Trump camp, strongly praising the virtues and generosity of the Trump administration, at a convention in the presence of the widow of Charlie Kirk, the far-right activist and influencer.

The singer is not the only one to have embraced the MAGA cause, turning her back on the defense of human rights and minorities. While during Trump's first term, Kanye West was one of the few to publicly show his support—the rapper visited him at Trump Tower in 2016 and then at the White House in 2018—hip-hop artists are now far more numerous in supporting the president.

Presidential pardons and the platinum plan

While Hollywood and major actors still largely support the Democratic camp, with the exception of a few veterans like Jon Voigt, Sylvester Stallone and Mel Gibson, whom Trump has appointed as "special ambassadors" in Hollywood, part of the music world, and in particular hip hop, has moved closer to the president.

In 2025, supporting Donald Trump is no longer limited to aging actors or conservative country singers. "In pop culture, Trump's second term is generating less opposition than his first. Has everyone simply given up?" asked Rolling Stone magazine in January 2025.

Admittedly, the number of artists performing at Donald Trump's second inauguration in January 2025 wasn't much higher than at his first in 2017. Between a second-rate Pavarotti impersonator, the Village People, and Kid Rock, it was hardly enough to make people forget the performances of Aretha Franklin and Beyoncé at Barack Obama's inauguration, or Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez at Joe Biden's. And many rappers, like Kendrick Lamar and Cardi B, remain critical of the American president.

But as Rolling Stone noted a year ago, "the contrast is striking with Trump's first term, where open resistance to each of his decisions was practically the norm in popular culture and where one would never have imagined a rapper associating himself with any celebration of Trump."

In recent years, many rappers, formerly critical of the president, have openly sided with him, sometimes even at the end of his first term.

Nelly, Lil Wayne, Kodak Black, and Lil Pump have all joined the Trump camp. This alignment is undoubtedly somewhat opportunistic, since Lil Wayne and Kodak Black were both pardoned by Donald Trump in 2021, before the end of his first term. The former faced up to 10 years in prison for gun possession, and the latter was serving a 46-month sentence for illegal gun possession.

Bling-bling style

And then there's Trump's bling-bling and outrageous style, his love of money and luxury, which are reminiscent of the world and values of certain rappers. "He has a similar style in terms of behavior, and many rappers and people in the industry identify with that," said lawyer Bradford Cohen in 2021 in the New York Times. Cohen was present at the president's meeting with Lil Wayne and was a former contestant on Trump's show, The Apprentice.

But perhaps the rappers who aligned themselves with Trump were also attracted by the Platinum Plan, proposed in September 2020. A $500 million investment program to support Black communities in the United States.

Thus, Lil Wayne, posing proudly with Donald Trump in October 2020, was enthusiastic about the president's accomplishments "in criminal justice reform" and praised the "platinum plan" which "will give the community a real sense of ownership. He listened to what we had to say today and assured us that he was going to achieve it and that he had the means to do so."

This program also appealed to rapper Ice Cube, who was previously very critical of Donald Trump.

Opportunism or genuine commitment, it doesn't matter; it's the image that counts. And according to American media, this closeness to the world of hip hop has given Donald Trump a certain legitimacy in the eyes of the Black and Hispanic electorate.

“Few political observers believe that rappers’ TikTok videos are directly responsible for Mr. Trump’s apparent rise in popularity among Black and Latino voters,” Kevin Powell, a civil rights activist and hip-hop historian, pointed out in the New York Times in July 2024. “But they do believe that this support is important: supporting Mr. Trump is becoming ‘normal and acceptable’ in communities where it was once taboo.”

Supporting Trump, however, came at a high price for some of these rappers. Rapper Nelly, who performed at the inaugural ball in January 2025, had to explain that he would have done so for the opposing candidate had he won the election.

Lil Pump stated on Instagram that his support for Trump "made him lose a lot of contracts" and that he "lost 4 million followers".

Snoop Dogg, too, was seen alongside Trump, which drew both comments and criticism. The rapper, along with Rick Ross, attended the Crypto Ball in Washington, D.C., in January 2025, an event held a few days before Trump's inauguration in his honor. Snoop Dogg justified his presence by explaining that he had "mixed for 30 minutes," "made a ton of money," and "made connections to help underprivileged neighborhoods."

He concluded: "I represent neither the Republican Party nor the Democratic Party. I represent the gangsters' party. Period."

Ice Cube also drew the ire of fans. Just like Nicki Minaj, more recently, who faced calls for a boycott from her disappointed fans. Supporting Trump is therefore not without consequences for artists.