Nicki Minaj targets California Gov. Gavin Newsom for his comments supporting transgender children

The rapper is beefing with California Governor Gavin Newsom, who she has been calling “Gav Nots” and “new scum”

Nicki Minaj has gone full MAGA. This week, the Trinidad-born rapper aligned herself with the Trump administration once more and attacked California Governor Gavin Newsom for his stance supporting transgender children.

Gov. Newsom was speaking on “The Ezra Klein Show” on December 10, when he shared his shared his thoughts on the matter.

“I want to see trans kids, I have a trans god-son. There’s no governor that’s done more pro-trans legislation than I have,” he said. “No one has been a stronger advocate for the LGBT community.”

The clip of Newsom’s comments went viral, and Minaj chimed in on Friday with her response.

“Imagine being the guy running on wanting to see trans kids. Haha. Not even a trans ADULT would run on that. Normal adults wake up & think they want to see HEALTHY, SAFE, HAPPY kids,” she wrote on X.

Imagine being the guy running on wanting to see trans kids. Haha. Not even a trans ADULT would run on that. Normal adults wake up & think they want to see HEALTHY, SAFE, HAPPY kids.

Not Gav

The Gav Nots

GavOUT

Send in the next guy, I’m bored. pic.twitter.com/627bIhbD1j— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) December 12, 2025

This led to one of Minaj’s signature rants on X, lashing out at Newsom. She called him a “cute boy who got everything handed to him,” and said “He thinks he’s Tom Cruise only difference is, his next mission IS impossible. He should get another leading role.” Even on Saturday, she was still posting about “new scum,” and sharing posts from MAGA accounts to her X page.

Minaj’s allyship with President Donald Trump comes after she posted comments on X supporting the president’s false claims about a Christian genocide taking place in Nigeria. To thank her, Trump invited Minaj to speak at the United Nations conference in New York last month, where she spoke with the U.S. ambassador Mike Waltz.

“I would like to thank President Trump for prioritizing this issue and for his leadership on the global stage in calling for urgent action to defend Christians in Nigeria, to combat extremism, and to bring a stop to violence against those who simply want to exercise their natural right to freedom of religion or belief,” Minaj said to reporters at the UN conference.

Vice President JD Vance has also spoken out in support of Minaj. This week, he took a stance in a longstanding rap beef, posting on X, “Nicki>Cardi.” This may have been a response to Minaj’s post supporting Vance, who she has called “quick as a computer,” where she said he was better than Newsom.

“The Vance > The Gav Nots,” she wrote on X.

The Trump administration has been invoking some of pop culture’s biggest Black artists in their political messaging lately, whether they’re as enthusiastic as Minaj or not. SZA fired back at The White House for using her music in one of their latest social media videos of ICE agents making arrests, and referencing “cuffing season,” with the audio from the singer’s SNL skit, “Big Boys.”

“White House rage baiting artists for free promo is PEAK DARK ..inhumanity + shock and aw tactics … Evil n Boring,” SZA wrote in a post on X.”