Nicki Minaj at AmericaFest Defends Christians, President Trump, and the Right to Think Freely

[00:14] Hi.

[00:17] Hello. How are you?

[00:21] >> [cheering]

[00:23] >> So, those of you who know, Charlie was

[00:26] very good about having a surprise for

[00:29] every Amfest,

[00:32] and we we are so blessed to have you. We

[00:35] are so grateful.

[00:38] I mean, thank you. I'm honored to be

[00:41] here. I am honored to be here. Thank you

[00:44] for having me.

[00:51] love you guys.

[00:55] >> So, we're just going to dive right into

[00:57] this.

[00:58] You had some uh fun words

[01:02] for Governor Newsome.

[01:06] [cheering]

[01:08] I just I have to read these tweets

[01:11] because they are amazing and they are so

[01:14] funny. Okay, first one. We'll do this

[01:17] one. Unless you want to read it in your

[01:20] own voice. I think it'd be really great.

[01:22] Okay.

[01:24] >> Oh, Gabby Pooh, it only gets worse from

[01:27] here for you, buddy. It's the end of the

[01:30] road for you, my love. Get on the

[01:32] nearest jet ski and let that beautiful

[01:35] hair blow in the wind. It'll make you

[01:37] happier than this race that you will not

[01:40] win. Enjoy life. Peace.

[01:48] Okay. Okay. One more.

[01:51] One more. Why not?

[01:55] Imagine being the guy running on wanting

[01:57] to see trans kids. Haha. Not even a

[02:00] trans adult would run on that. Normal

[02:03] adults wake up and think they want to

[02:05] see healthy, safe, happy kids. Not Gav.

[02:10] The Gavs. Gav not in. Y out. Send in the

[02:15] next guy. I'm bored.

[02:22] >> So, I'm just going to let you riff like

[02:25] I want you to say whatever you want to

[02:27] say

[02:28] >> to Mr. Newsome.

[02:31] >> Dear Newsum,

[02:35] [cheering]

[02:38] >> we don't have a problem cleaning up the

[02:40] scum if we have to.

[02:43] Please tread lightly. That's what I

[02:46] would say to Gabby Pooh.

[02:52] >> So, with regard to the current

[02:55] administration,

[02:57] what has been maybe the biggest surprise

[03:00] for you or something that you just

[03:03] really has been put on your heart that

[03:05] you've learned about our president and

[03:08] our vice president?

[03:11] Well,

[03:13] I have the utmost respect

[03:19] and admiration

[03:21] for our president.

[03:25] [cheering]

[03:28] >> [applause]

[03:29] >> He he has I don't know if he even knows

[03:33] this, but he's given so many people hope

[03:37] that there's a chance to

[03:40] beat the bad guys

[03:43] and to win and to do it um with your

[03:47] head held high and um your integrity

[03:52] intact.

[03:54] um he's from Queens, New York, like me.

[04:00] So, but what it's shown me personally is

[04:06] sometimes, you know, even at even in the

[04:08] worst feeling times in your life, you

[04:11] think that you're never going to come

[04:12] back from it, but you do. And our

[04:16] president shows that he's been through

[04:19] every single thing a person could be

[04:21] through publicly.

[04:24] Um having to constantly be lied on.

[04:29] Um it's not really that funny until you

[04:33] are in that person's shoes that's being

[04:36] lied on.

[04:38] You'll never understand what it feels

[04:40] like. That person is a human being. They

[04:42] have a family who has to read those

[04:44] lies.

[04:46] And that's not and it's just not fair.

[04:49] Um,

[04:50] but this administration

[04:55] is full of

[04:57] people with heart and soul. Um, and and

[05:02] they make me proud of them. um our vice

[05:06] president.

[05:08] He makes me well I I love both of them.

[05:12] But there I they're they're both

[05:16] powerful men,

[05:19] smart, strong, all of that. But both of

[05:23] them have a very

[05:26] uncanny ability to be someone that you

[05:29] relate to. I can relate to them when I

[05:31] hear them speak. I know that they're one

[05:34] of us. Like I know that they're not

[05:37] Don't you guys agree?

[05:39] They haven't they haven't lost they

[05:41] haven't lost touch of the world. You

[05:45] know, they're still connected to the

[05:47] world and what's happening in the world.

[05:49] Um with the younger people and older

[05:52] people, with the richer people and not

[05:54] so rich people, they have the ability to

[05:57] still connect and be real and make us

[06:01] feel proud to be American.

[06:06] >> [applause]

[06:09] >> So why now have you have you been

[06:12] involved with speaking about politics?

[06:14] What was kind of the the turning point

[06:18] for you? Yes.

[06:20] >> What was the turning point? Well,

[06:24] >> I just got tired of being pushed around.

[06:29] Um

[06:31] Yeah. [applause and cheering]

[06:34] Sometimes you just get tired of it and

[06:37] then you realize, wait a minute, I have

[06:40] something inside of me that's stronger

[06:42] than what's out there.

[06:46] [applause]

[06:47] That's right. So

[06:49] when you've had enough, you realize,

[06:52] wait a minute, this why do I even care

[06:55] about these people and what they think?

[06:57] Who are they? They don't even know who

[06:59] they are. So, I'm not going to I'm not

[07:04] going to back down anymore. I'm not

[07:06] going to back down ever again.

[07:08] >> Amen.

[07:11] [cheering]

[07:17] >> Can the students in the room raise your

[07:19] hand?

[07:22] >> Wow.

[07:25] This question is is for you guys. So,

[07:29] you guys are very courageous and and

[07:32] bold on your campus.

[07:34] Nikki, I I know our students feel this

[07:36] way, but why do you think speaking your

[07:39] mind has become so controversial

[07:44] because

[07:46] people no longer are using their minds,

[07:49] their brains.

[07:53] >> [cheering]

[07:54] >> So right now, just imagine

[07:58] we're not allowed to have a different

[08:01] opinion anymore. We're not allowed to

[08:04] think out loud anymore. We're not like

[08:08] it just

[08:11] this is not what the world used to feel

[08:13] like.

[08:15] And especially for the young people, I

[08:18] don't want them growing up in a world

[08:20] where they feel like that.

[08:22] I mean, they deserve for their voices to

[08:24] be heard. They have valid feelings and

[08:28] and they're thinking about things and it

[08:30] and it deserves attention. You know, it

[08:33] we we should we should listen to what

[08:35] they're saying. Um, and if you're

[08:37] growing up in a world that tells you

[08:41] it's taboo to say something that the

[08:45] masses don't agree with, that that

[08:48] that's not okay. And we're not going to

[08:50] have it. And I and I love this, you

[08:53] know, um, it it's it's giving the

[08:56] younger people confidence that they will

[08:59] need later on in life. You guys will

[09:01] need it and you will have it. So, I'm

[09:05] rooting. I'm rooting for you.

[09:07] >> Amen. Amen. [cheering]

[09:12] [applause]

[09:13] >> Again, Charlie would always say it it

[09:16] really does not take skill to be

[09:18] courageous. It takes a choice. It takes

[09:21] a decision. And I just I want to say

[09:24] again, thank you for coming and being

[09:27] courageous and being able to share your

[09:30] heart with us.

[09:31] And the reason why that also holds true

[09:34] sentiment-wise is because I know that

[09:36] you are getting a lot of backlash from

[09:39] your own industry.

[09:41] What is your reaction to that?

[09:44] I didn't notice.

[09:47] >> Amen. I feel the same way [cheering]

[09:54] when people are like, "What do you think

[09:55] about them?" I'm like, "I don't think

[09:56] about them."

[09:57] >> Bingo. We don't even think about them.

[10:00] We don't have time to We're too busy

[10:01] building, right?

[10:02] >> Yeah. We're the We're the cool kids.

[10:05] >> Okay.

[10:06] >> The other the other the other people,

[10:08] they're the ones who are still just

[10:12] disgruntled, but really they're just

[10:14] disgruntled with themselves. They They

[10:17] are angry with themselves, you guys. So,

[10:21] you can't wake up and think about

[10:23] somebody who is determined to just stay

[10:27] mad. I literally tell them, "Stay mad."

[10:31] >> Amen.

[10:31] >> Stay mad.

[10:32] >> Cuz we're going to stay joyful.

[10:34] >> Yep.

[10:35] >> And peaceful and iconic and smart. And

[10:40] we're going to stay thinkers

[10:42] in a world that doesn't want us to

[10:44] think. We will think

[10:47] by ourselves on our own. We will

[10:50] continue to thank.

[10:56] [cheering]

[11:02] [cheering]

[11:08] [cheering]

[11:12] [applause]

[11:14] This is something I know that's really

[11:16] important to you and on your heart. And

[11:19] I just I I personally want to know what

[11:21] inspired you to speak out for the

[11:24] Christians that are being slaughtered in

[11:26] Nigeria.

[11:28] Well,

[11:31] and that brings me back to our great

[11:35] president and this administration and

[11:38] our great country that we take for

[11:41] granted that there right now in this

[11:43] world are people who cannot worship God

[11:47] as they please, where they please. We

[11:49] take it for granted because we have it.

[11:52] We can't even imagine not having that

[11:55] right.

[11:58] But every time we pray and fellowship,

[12:02] we have to remember the people that are

[12:04] right now in this world hiding to pray

[12:07] and fellowship. And we have to pray for

[12:09] them. And first of all, Nigeria is a

[12:13] place I've always loved. Um, someone

[12:18] very dear to me, my pastor um is

[12:21] Nigerian. I have lots of Nigerian barbs.

[12:25] And so hearing that

[12:30] people are being

[12:32] kidnapped and while they're in church,

[12:35] people are being kidnapped, people are

[12:37] being killed, brutalized,

[12:41] all because of their religion. And that

[12:45] should spark outrage

[12:48] in the great America. And that's what it

[12:51] did. And again, we're not backing down

[12:55] anymore.

[12:58] We are not going to be silenced by the

[13:00] bullies anymore. Okay?

[13:04] Know that. [cheering]

[13:06] Hear that. Receive that. Bullies. We

[13:10] won't be silenced ever again. We will

[13:13] speak up for Christians wherever they

[13:16] are in this world. [cheering]

[13:18] Amen.

[13:20] Amen.

[13:23] >> [cheering]

[13:26] >> I don't know if you can see this at

[13:27] home, but she is getting a ton of

[13:28] standing ovations.

[13:32] [cheering]

[13:34] I love you guys so much. Thank you.

[13:36] Thank you guys.

[13:39] [applause]

[13:40] So, going along that thread, can you

[13:43] tell us about your relationship with

[13:46] God? Cuz I think a lot of us want to

[13:48] hear.

[13:48] >> Sure.

[13:50] Well, my relationship in God with God

[13:53] started well when I was a toddler um in

[13:58] Trinidad.

[14:00] My grandmother if things got

[14:04] spicy in the house, like if people were

[14:07] if the kids and grandkids were arguing

[14:09] or fighting, she would make all the

[14:11] little kids go in her room and and make

[14:14] us say our like and and say a prayer.

[14:18] So, um,

[14:21] later on in my life, well, not later,

[14:23] not much later. When I was like 10, 11,

[14:26] 12, I started going to church in New

[14:30] York.

[14:32] And um, it changed everything. It

[14:34] changed my life for the better because I

[14:37] was going every week. I was hearing

[14:43] the word of God be preached

[14:45] and then I was going home and I was

[14:48] applying it to my life even as a little

[14:50] girl. Um I learned how to pray very

[14:54] early. Um I always had this

[15:00] faith that made people think you know

[15:02] the kind of faith that you think a

[15:04] person is crazy like oh please like you

[15:06] know but I

[15:10] had that

[15:12] faith instinctively

[15:15] um once I started hearing about

[15:19] God and you know just getting more into

[15:23] the Bible I got baptized ized when I was

[15:27] about Yep. Amen. I got baptized when I

[15:31] was uh about 13. I got baptized and um

[15:38] I have just always applied those

[15:42] teachings

[15:43] to my life. I I try to um and and that's

[15:48] the thing. We're not perfect. We try.

[15:53] Sometimes

[15:55] I would wake up and feel so far removed

[15:58] from

[16:00] not God but from fellowship.

[16:04] >> You know, I was like, "Oh my God, I used

[16:06] to go to church on Wednesday, Friday,

[16:08] and Sunday every week, like literally 3

[16:12] days out of the week." Um, and then

[16:14] later on in your life, you become busy

[16:16] and you start thinking, "Oh, well, you

[16:18] know, God is in my heart." and you know,

[16:20] but then sometimes you can be in an

[16:24] industry as well that

[16:27] pulls you away even more. So

[16:32] lately, I've been feeling like,

[16:37] you know, like if you haven't seen a a

[16:40] longlost best friend for, you know, for

[16:42] a long time and then you bump into them

[16:44] again. That's how it's been feeling for

[16:46] me. like just going back to God and

[16:49] praying and talking to him and you know

[16:52] and he said to me, "Where were you?

[16:54] Where have you been? I've been waiting

[16:56] on you."

[16:58] And since that moment that God had that

[17:01] conversation with me, I've been in such

[17:05] a better space because now it's just I'm

[17:09] thinking about is God pleased with this?

[17:13] Not if the bullies

[17:16] and uglies are pleased

[17:20] if but but if God is pleased. And when

[17:23] you have that personal relationship with

[17:24] God, guess what? Even in school, he's

[17:27] there.

[17:29] Wherever you are and whenever you need

[17:31] it, you have something that you can tap

[17:33] into immediately. It's immediate. You

[17:36] don't have to leave a message. He's not

[17:38] going to call you back. He's there

[17:40] immediately. soon as you call on him on

[17:43] the first ring, he's going to answer.

[17:46] And I want you guys to remember that

[17:48] you're young. And first of all, first of

[17:50] all, I want to say I'm proud of you

[17:54] guys. This is a major to to be so young

[17:59] for you guys that are in college. To be

[18:01] so young and to care this much this

[18:05] early in your life, it tells us how

[18:08] smart you are. And it tells us that

[18:10] there's hope for our future. So, God

[18:12] bless you. Congratulations, you guys.

[18:14] You're amazing. Congratulations. You

[18:18] guys are amazing. Okay. Know it. Feel

[18:21] it.

[18:23] Yes.

[18:24] Yes. Proudly.

[18:28] Be it proudly.

[18:30] Be who you are proudly.

[18:33] [applause]

[18:35] Amen.

[18:37] So, what have you I mean, you're an

[18:41] amazing mother.

[18:43] >> What have you seen

[18:45] that has been a struggle for young women

[18:49] today? And then also, since both of us

[18:51] have little boys, I would love for you

[18:54] to also talk about the male side of that

[18:57] question as well.

[18:59] >> Okay. Well,

[19:02] something that I've noticed recently is

[19:04] that for little girls, I think that no

[19:07] matter how you look,

[19:09] we should be trying to instill into them

[19:13] to be proud of how they look. recently

[19:18] in the media is almost been like a push

[19:21] to

[19:24] it's not just making young black

[19:28] children feel proud of themselves, but

[19:30] it's almost like doing that and at the

[19:33] same time telling other children not to

[19:37] be proud of themselves. And I don't want

[19:40] any child feeling that way. If we if

[19:46] [applause]

[19:49] if as black women

[19:51] we felt

[19:55] that we were not being represented

[19:58] and not being

[20:02] admired for our beauty. If we felt like

[20:05] that as black women, why would we want

[20:07] to do that to other women?

[20:09] >> Amen. Why would we now need to make

[20:12] other people downplay their beauty so

[20:16] that we can feel No, that's not how it

[20:18] works. I don't need someone with blonde

[20:20] hair and blue eyes to downplay their

[20:23] beauty because I know my beauty. Do you

[20:27] understand? It doesn't bother me that a

[20:30] woman feels and says that she's

[20:33] beautiful. Why shouldn't she feel that?

[20:37] Why have we gotten to a point where

[20:39] certain colors or certain kinds of

[20:41] people have to be afraid of loving

[20:44] themselves and loving the way they look?

[20:47] >> Like it's Isn't that wild?

[20:50] >> And so for little girls, I don't want

[20:53] what was done to little black girls done

[20:56] to little white girls. I don't want it

[20:58] done to any girls. I want all the little

[21:01] girls in the world to know that you are

[21:04] unique. You are beautiful.

[21:07] You are you. And you can compliment

[21:09] another girl. You can compliment another

[21:11] woman and still know that you are epic

[21:14] and amazing. So that's what I would say

[21:16] about for the girls. Um,

[21:20] and I know the older I know my adults

[21:23] understand clearly where I'm where I'm

[21:24] going with that, where I'm get, you

[21:26] know. Um, I just I don't like I don't

[21:29] like that. I don't like people making

[21:32] other people feel badly about themselves

[21:35] in any way. We need to nurture young

[21:38] girls. Yes. Whether they are black,

[21:42] white, Asian, Hispanic, they still need

[21:44] to be nurtured. They cannot continue to

[21:47] pay for other people's sins. So, they

[21:50] haven't done anything wrong. Amen.

[21:53] [applause]

[21:57] And what do you think about for young

[21:59] men? For young men. And for young men,

[22:03] don't be new scum.

[22:07] Um, yes. See, dear young men, you have

[22:13] amazing role models

[22:16] like our

[22:19] handsome, dashing

[22:22] president.

[22:24] And you have amazing role models like

[22:27] the

[22:29] assassin

[22:31] JD Vance, our vice president. And when I

[22:35] say that,

[22:42] I it. Trust me, there's nothing new

[22:45] under the sun that I have not heard. So,

[22:47] you're fine.

[22:51] >> Yes, we did.

[22:54] >> I love you.

[22:58] >> I love you.

[22:59] >> You have to laugh about it. Truly, I

[23:01] have been called every single thing. And

[23:03] you know what? God is so good. You let

[23:05] it roll right off your back. And this is

[23:07] what's so beautiful about this moment

[23:10] because if the internet wants to clip

[23:12] it, who cares? I love this woman. She's

[23:15] an amazing woman. She has a soul and a

[23:18] heart for the Lord. And words are words,

[23:22] but I know her heart and it doesn't even

[23:24] matter. And you say what you want to say

[23:26] because I know your heart and I do not

[23:29] judge that,

[23:29] >> sister. Thank you. Um, for boys. Boys,

[23:37] be boys.

[23:38] >> Amen.

[23:38] >> Be boys. It's okay. Be boys. It's

[23:42] nothing wrong with being a boy.

[23:46] >> Amen.

[23:46] >> How about that?

[23:47] >> Amen.

[23:49] >> How powerful is that? How profound is

[23:51] that?

[23:52] >> Amen.

[23:53] >> Boys will be boys and there's nothing

[23:55] wrong with that.

[24:00] Um, love.

[24:01] >> Yeah, that's what I want to say.

[24:04] >> What's something the media and the world

[24:07] in general misunderstands about you?

[24:10] Oh. Um. H

[24:15] I think

[24:18] people think maybe that I'm mean or, you

[24:23] know, maybe I

[24:25] >> When you have a strong presence as a

[24:27] woman, it's easy to just box you into

[24:30] one box, like, one category of mean or,

[24:34] >> you know, other words. They want to like

[24:36] put you in a box to be able to label you

[24:38] what they want you to be, but you're so

[24:41] much more than that

[24:42] >> because you um because you intimidate

[24:45] them, you know, and they want to find

[24:48] something and if they can't find

[24:50] something, they'll make something up.

[24:52] They will

[24:52] >> and so they'll put a label on you. But

[24:55] um

[24:57] you know, it doesn't what people

[25:00] misunderstand about me now. I I don't

[25:04] care about it. I really don't. They I In

[25:08] fact, I love that they misunderstand me

[25:11] now.

[25:12] >> I do too because it shows that you're

[25:14] you're not a part of this world. Someone

[25:17] once told me, "Do not be surprised when

[25:19] the world acts like the world." And I

[25:22] held on to that so much because even

[25:24] being in this this role now, people

[25:27] don't they're trying to figure me out.

[25:29] Okay, enjoy. I am who I am. There's

[25:34] nothing to hide. And I know you feel the

[25:35] same way when people misunderstand you

[25:37] and you're like, "Okay, well, I have an

[25:39] audience of one." Well, now I have an

[25:40] audience of two, but I have an audience

[25:42] of in heaven. And and I know the Lord

[25:47] knows me. Lord knows you. And he put

[25:49] everything in you to be able to make a

[25:52] difference in this world. Likewise to

[25:54] all of you students and everyone else

[25:55] here. And to go into that further, I

[25:59] know that this and I'll end on this. I

[26:01] know that a lot of you guys have been

[26:04] hearing about, you know, we are doing

[26:06] this for Charlie and we're doing this

[26:08] for his legacy, but we're also doing it

[26:11] because each and every one of you guys

[26:12] have a legacy. And I want you guys when

[26:16] you leave this conference to take

[26:19] something with you. And when it gets

[26:22] tough out there, I want you to hold with

[26:24] you a word. It could be anything. For

[26:27] me, it's Charlie, but for you guys, it

[26:30] could be, I don't know, refocus, family,

[26:33] children, future, something. Hold that

[26:36] word in your heart so that when you go

[26:38] back out into the world and you have

[26:40] someone screaming in your face,

[26:44] someone spitting in your face, someone

[26:46] flipping your table on campus, someone

[26:47] making fun of you because you're a

[26:49] conservative, someone making fun of you

[26:51] because you love the Lord. Say that word

[26:53] to yourself out loud or internally to

[26:56] refocus your brain and your heart and

[26:59] your soul to know that you're about

[27:01] something so much bigger and greater.

[27:03] The legacy with Terrain Point USA, yes,

[27:05] but also for yourself. And so Nikki, I

[27:08] want to ask you in closing, what is

[27:10] something that you want to leave as a

[27:14] legacy in this world for your family,

[27:16] for your baby, for just everything?

[27:23] Well,

[27:35] that it's that it's okay to change your

[27:38] mind.

[27:43] [applause]

[27:45] It's okay to change your mind. You don't

[27:49] have to

[27:52] You know, there's sometimes there's a

[27:54] lot of things projected onto you when

[27:58] you change your own mind. You know, they

[28:01] project fear, shame,

[28:05] um, onto people who don't think and do

[28:08] as they think and do. Um,

[28:13] but I've traveled the world.

[28:17] I've performed for crowd, huge crowds

[28:20] all around the world.

[28:25] And no matter how many songs I do on

[28:28] that stage,

[28:30] it didn't mean as much as this

[28:34] because this is a direct link for

[28:38] younger people. This is a direct

[28:42] link

[28:44] between young people and God.

[28:49] And and there's been there's been

[28:52] there's been a lack of that. There's

[28:54] been a lack of that in our media, in our

[28:59] everyday conversations. People have been

[29:02] you know interestingly enough people

[29:05] have been even perse Christians have

[29:07] been being persecuted right here in our

[29:09] country in different ways. So when we

[29:11] talk about Nigeria and other countries

[29:15] know that prior administrations

[29:21] saw nothing wrong with that

[29:24] and that's what was wrong with them.

[29:27] [applause]

[29:31] I truly feel that there are people out

[29:36] there who felt good

[29:39] about

[29:43] chastising Christians right here in our

[29:46] country.

[29:48] And it's kind of really really sick. We

[29:54] can't let people like that be in power,

[29:58] you guys.

[30:01] That's the truth. [applause]

[30:04] I can sugarcoat it and laugh and kiki,

[30:06] but the truth is I am here today to tell

[30:11] you guys that we absolutely cannot let

[30:17] people who have a problem with us

[30:21] worshiping God.

[30:23] We cannot have them in power.

[30:26] We cannot have them in power.

[30:30] All you have to do is look at what is

[30:32] happening in other places in the world.

[30:35] Look at what is being done to Christians

[30:39] all around the world

[30:43] and ask yourself why people in this

[30:46] country that were in positions of power

[30:49] felt so comfortable.

[30:53] to

[30:58] try to take our voices from us. They

[31:01] were that afraid. They are that

[31:04] intimidated. They are that insecure.

[31:05] They are that small inside

[31:09] that hearing us and seeing us worship

[31:12] God irritated them. Our

[31:16] spirit irritates them

[31:19] because when we speak, [applause]

[31:23] they get shown up.

[31:26] When the truth walks in the room, the

[31:29] lies hide.

[31:31] They don't come out willingly. You got

[31:34] to pry it out of them.

[31:36] >> [cheering]

[31:37] >> They hide

[31:40] because they don't want you or anyone to

[31:42] know who they really are behind closed

[31:44] doors because even they know how evil it

[31:48] is to try to deprive people of

[31:51] worshiping God.

[31:53] Amen. We love you, Nicki Minaj.

[31:58] Thank you guys, my darling. Thank you

[32:00] for having me. [applause]