President Donald Trump, no stranger to racist remarks and other controversy, is getting heat for a joke he told about one of his most prominent celebrity allies, Nicki Minaj. The remark about the rapper was part of Trump’s larger attempt at humor at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which was held again after the event was interrupted by an armed gunman earlier this year.
Trump supporters laugh at his Nicki Minaj twerking joke
As is tradition, Trump delivered the keynote address at Friday’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, an annual fundraising event that usually features comedians roasting the president and jokes from the president as well.
This year’s dinner was initially scheduled for April but was evacuated after a shootout in which an armed man allegedly attempted to breach the event’s security.
Trump referenced the shooting in his speech with a joke about Minaj.
“But after hearing the gunshots, many people yelled, ‘Get down, get down!’,” Trump quipped. “Which caused Nicki Minaj to start twerking. Can you believe it?”
As some audience members laughed, Trump continued the joke.
“She’s the only one that really understood what that meant.”
Trump supporters and some members of the audience found the joke funny. Former Trump adviser Elon Musk responded to the video on X with a laughing emoji.
Minaj, who has become one of Trump’s most prominent celebrity supporters, attempted to downplay the joke.
“How I’ll be looking @ the President next time I see him,” she posted on X alongside a disapproving image of a pink-haired Chucky doll, which she often uses to represent herself online.
The post pinned at the top of Minaj’s X profile remains a photo of her posing with Trump in the Oval Office with the caption, “Whoa!!!! #WhiteHouseBarbie with her favorite President of all time!!!”
Trump accused of repeating old racist joke
Others, however, found the joke offensive.
“Congrats Nicki Minaj you are now reduced to a bad trump joke,” one comment read on X.
“Trump made a “twerking” joke About a Black woman. Yikes…” another X user posted.
“Old racist joke they said get down and the black people started dancing,” Will Thomas posted on X before adding a sarcastic “Good one Donny.”
MeidasTouch News traced the possible origin of the joke to one believed to have circulated about Black soldiers serving in the Vietnam War.
“Nearly identical versions of the joke have circulated for years, with numerous people describing it as an old racist Vietnam War joke,” the outlet wrote.
In the traditional version of the joke, Black soldiers die because they respond to a command to “get down” by dancing instead of taking cover from incoming gunfire.
Trump’s speech was also criticized as unfunny, offensive and filled with mean-spirited attacks on some of his frequent targets. For example, Trump again targeted CNN journalist Kaitlan Collins, repeating his jab that she “never smiles.” He also commented on Collins’ appearance by unfavorably comparing her to transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Trump later doubled down by posting an AI-generated video that superimposed Collins’ face onto Mulvaney’s body.
Trump’s remarks have been widely condemned as offensive and unfunny. His comments about Minaj also prompted renewed questions about what the rapper has gained from publicly aligning herself with Trump after becoming the subject of one of his jokes.
