Trevor Noah used his Grammys hosting gig to poke at Nicki Minaj’s politics, and the line instantly became one of the night’s most replayed moments. By joking that the rapper was “still at the White House with Donald Trump,” he pulled a years‑old photo op back into the spotlight and reminded viewers that awards-show comedy is rarely just about the punchline. The moment landed at the intersection of celebrity, fandom, and a political climate where even a quick joke can feel loaded.
Noah’s crack did not come out of nowhere. Nicki Minaj has already been under intense scrutiny for her public praise of President Donald J. Trump, and her decision to lean into that alliance has reshaped how some fans see her. When the Grammys host folded that history into his opening monologue, he was not just teasing an absent star, he was tapping into a broader debate over how openly entertainers should play in the political arena.
Inside Noah’s Grammys jab at Nicki Minaj
During the 2026 Grammy ceremony at Crypto.com Arena, Trevor Noah slipped the Nicki Minaj line into a monologue that was otherwise packed with standard awards-show banter. As he worked the room, he joked that Nicki Minaj was missing from the crowd because she was “still at the White House with Donald Trump,” a reference to her past visit and public support for the president that immediately stood out from the lighter celebrity teasing around it. Coverage of the show noted that the 2026 Grammy host, Trevor Noah, chose to single out Nicki Minaj’s White House association in front of the live audience at Crypto.com Arena.
Reports from the telecast described how Noah’s monologue moved from light crowd work into sharper political territory as he brought up Nicki Minaj for supporting Trump. One live recap of the show highlighted that, in his opening monologue, Trevor Noah roasted Nicki Minaj for Trump, framing the joke as part of a broader bit about how politics keeps bleeding into pop culture. Another account of the show’s opening moments similarly noted that Trevor Noah roasted Nicki Minaj for missing the Grammys by saying she was still at the White House, tying her absence directly to her relationship with Donald Trump.
Why Nicki Minaj’s Trump connection was such an easy target
Noah’s joke only works if viewers already know the backstory, and Nicki Minaj has given them plenty to work with. Late last year, she appeared at a Turning Point USA event where she openly praised President Donald J. Trump and conservative activist Charlie Kirk, a move that instantly shifted her from occasional political commentator to full‑blown ally in the eyes of many observers. One detailed account of that appearance noted that the backlash followed her time at Turning Point USA, where she praised President Donald, Trump and Charlie Kirk, and that the fallout included a sharp drop in her social media following.
That same period also saw Nicki Minaj delete her Instagram account after losing nearly 10 million followers, a dramatic step that underscored how polarizing her political turn had become. The post documenting that shift, shared on Instagram, tied the follower loss directly to her decision to embrace Trump onstage. By the time the Grammys rolled around, her alignment with the president was not a niche storyline, it was a defining part of her public narrative, which made her an obvious target when a host like Noah went looking for a political punchline that the entire room would recognize.
Noah’s long-running habit of mixing politics into Grammys jokes
The Nicki Minaj line also fits a pattern for Trevor Noah, who has repeatedly used the Grammys stage to test political material. During an earlier hosting stint, he opened the show with a musical tribute to Los Angeles and then pivoted into a monologue that included jabs at the Trump administration, blending local color with national politics in a way that has become his signature. One recap of that night pointed out that, after the song, After the performance, Noah started the monologue jokes and slipped in a few shots at Trump as part of his opening routine.
Not every attempt has landed cleanly. Coverage of his 2025 hosting turn noted that some viewers felt his anti‑Trump material was awkward and out of step with the room, suggesting that the balance between sharp commentary and crowd‑pleasing humor is not always easy to hit. One analysis of that show said that Trevor Noah delivered Anti, Trump Jokes At Grammys Didn, Land, And He faced criticism from some corners for an effort that came off as insensitive. Against that backdrop, his decision to go back to the Trump well in 2026, this time through Nicki Minaj, looks less like a one‑off and more like a deliberate throughline in how he approaches the job.
A politically charged night beyond one punchline
The Grammys stage around Noah’s monologue helped amplify the impact of the Nicki Minaj joke, because the show itself was already packed with moments that nodded to the broader culture. Performers like Sabrina Carpenter, Lady Gaga, and Justin Bieber were lined up for elaborate sets, and the telecast leaned into spectacle as a way to frame music’s biggest night. One live blog of the event described how Carpenter had an elaborate set in a faux airline terminal, complete with a giant arrivals and departures board, underscoring how much staging and narrative went into every performance.
Within that larger production, Noah’s decision to spotlight Nicki Minaj’s support for Trump functioned as a reminder that the Grammys are as much about storytelling as they are about trophies. Live coverage of the show noted that, in his opening monologue, Natalie Oganesyan captured how, amid the opening monologue schmoozing, Trevor Noah slipped in the Nicki Minaj line while still keeping the room moving. Another running update on the night’s events emphasized that, in his opening monologue, Amid the Grammys chatter, Noah chose to roast Nicki Minaj for Trump, reinforcing that politics was never far from the surface.
Comedy, politics, and the risk of turning artists into symbols
What makes the Nicki Minaj moment stand out is not just that Trevor Noah mentioned Trump, but that he used a single artist to represent a much bigger political divide. Nicki Minaj has already paid a price for her decision to praise Trump and Charlie Kirk, including the nearly 10 million followers she lost before deleting her account, and Noah’s joke effectively turned that personal calculation into shared entertainment. The original post chronicling that fallout, shared on Instagram, framed the backlash as a direct response to her appearance at Turning Point USA, which shows how quickly a political stance can reshape a pop star’s relationship with her audience.
Noah, for his part, has shown that he is comfortable walking that line, even when previous anti‑Trump material at the Grammys did not land the way he might have hoped. Earlier coverage of his hosting tenure pointed out that Noah has a habit of weaving Trump into his jokes, and that pattern continued with the Nicki Minaj line. Whether viewers see that as sharp commentary or tired provocation depends on their own politics, but the structure of the joke makes one thing clear: in the current climate, a quick reference to the White House can instantly turn a missing seat at the Grammys into a referendum on what it means for artists to pick a side.
More from Vinyl and Velvet:
Leave a Reply