‘Wop, wop, wop’: How Trevor Noah threw shade at Nicki Minaj at the Grammy Awards over Trump fandom

Trevor Noah, while hosting the Grammy Awards, took a jab at singer-rapper Nicki Minaj, who was absent from the ceremony, joking that she was at the White House with President Donald Trump.

Noah returned for the sixth and final time as host of the 68th Grammy Awards.




Early in his speech, Noah staged a mock scene of Donald Trump and said, "Nicki Minaj is not here, she is not here, uh. She is still at the White House with Donald Trump discussing very important issues,” Noah said.



The joke came in the wake of Minaj’s recent public praise of Trump. In a TikTok video, the rapper introduced him, saying, “Hello guys, I'm with my favorite President. The best of all times.” Trump responded in kind, calling her the “Queen of Rap.”

Minaj has also shared a photo of what she called “Trump’s Gold Card” and described herself as the president’s “No. 1 fan,” saying, “The hate or what people have to say, it does not affect me at all. It actually motivates me to support him more.”

Nicki Minaj has been nominated 12 times at the Grammys but has never won. Her most recent nomination was in 2024 for the song Barbie World from the Barbie film.

Noah also poked fun at current events and pop culture, drawing comparisons between a Korean drinking game linked to Bruno Mars and Anderson. Paak’s hit APT. and life in the United States. “In America, every time you turn on the news, you drink,” he quipped, earning laughs from the audience.