Devon Chichester

November 21, 2025

Last November, Nicki Minaj launched a collaboration with the Trump administration when it was announced she would be joining Trump’s UN ambassador Mike Waltz to speak out against the alleged “persecution” of Christians in Nigeria. Beyond her formally announced role as a speaker, Minaj took to social media earlier in the month to praise Trump’s inflammatory language and threats for “fast, vicious, and sweet” action against the islamic terrorists he and Minaj claim are committing this religious persecution. Phrases like “guns-a-blazing” and “terrorist thugs” have become the kind of terminology we expect to come from our current administration, but we have become dangerously desensitized to their impacts. 

If you’re taking the time to read this piece, hopefully that points to some semblance of media literacy; an invaluable trait which is becoming more and more rare to find. In a world oversaturated with social media, influencers and technology, there is an ever-growing ocean of information and misinformation which becomes more overwhelming to sift through with each day. Without a commitment to researching and delving into this vast information network, too many of us fall victim to absorbing only the most readily available information—which often coincides with information provided by who or whatever has the largest platform. In a political sphere which has blurred—rather, eradicated—the lines between entertainment elite, business elite and political elite, the individual platforms we give voices and power to are more important than ever. 

As it is, Trump himself is not a qualified politician. The very day his presidential campaign was awarded any sort of legitimacy by the public was the day we forever altered the distinction between qualified, educated opinions and general public discourse. I am not saying that celebrity opinions are always poor and undeserving of value, just that they should be classed with the latter—general public discourse—and taken at face value. These celebrities live very different lives from many of us, and experience the fallouts of our political realm in very different ways and at very different rates. 

The Trump administration has successfully created a largely news fatigued populace that no longer has the energy to keep up with what their latest moves are or which news articles are true. Tired of having to think critically, many turn to celebrities we think of as removed from the political sphere for our media consumption. However, in today’s day and age, everything we consume is laden with political implications, both overt and subconscious. When singers, actors, and influencers are toeing the line between entertainment and politics, and nicki minaj is joining the UN ambassador in stoking the flames of religious violence, it is important to take it upon ourselves to vet all of the information we consume and look into where and who it comes from.