Minaj floated as press secretary
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The gist
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung posted a video floating rapper Nicki Minaj as press secretary.
The post is vacant, but the float was described as joking.
Background
Nicki Minaj is a rapper whom HuffPost describes as a "MAGA rapper" who has embraced MAGA over the past year. Steven Cheung is the White House Communications Director, who interviewed her aboard Air Force One and posted the clip on X. The press secretary post was vacant after Karoline Leavitt left for family reasons in August and Katie Zacharia resigned just over a week before the interview, following what HuffPost called her "disastrous debut."
How it unfolded
- Oct 25, 2026White House Communications Director Steven Cheung interviewed Nicki Minaj aboard Air Force One, asking about the economy under Trump and whether anyone works harder than him.
- Oct 25, 2026Cheung posted the video on X with the caption, "Ladies and gentlemen, I think we may have found the new White House Press Secretary!"
- Oct 25, 2026Minaj reposted the video with an American flag and a nervous smiling emoji; she was en route to Port Huron, Michigan, to join the president at a rally for GOP Senate nominee Mike Rogers.
- Oct 25, 2026TMZ reported Minaj was floated as a press secretary replacement by White House staffers, and Polymarket posted the claim citing TMZ.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- Cheung posted the clip captioned that the White House "may have found the new White House Press Secretary."
- Caution
- HuffPost described the clip as a "seemingly staged audition" and said Minaj's claim that Trump won "three elections" is false.
Still unverified
It is unclear whether Minaj is seriously in the running for the post, and Cheung's float was described as joking.