White House Communications Director Steven Cheung had critics rolling their eyes after he shared a video of himself with rapper Nicki Minaj and floated her as the next press secretary.
Cheung's post comes as the White House continues to hunt for a replacement for Katie Zacharia, who was fired after just five days on the job.
Zacharia opened her debut briefing earlier this month with eight minutes of remarks lauding the "energetic president." She also asserted that "attendance is at record highs" at his rallies before presenting favorable figures on wage growth, prescription drug costs, employment and energy production.
But when she stepped out, it quickly became apparent that Zacharia was unpolished, stumbling over her written remarks and struggling to read her own notes. Critics piled on and Zacharia was fired mere days later.
Cheung shared a video featuring himself and Minaj taken aboard what appears to be Air Force One. Minaj lauds President Donald Trump for his "tough" approach to relationships with other countries. Minaj also says that "legacy media continues to attack him [Trump] left and right," and that despite that, Trump soldiers on, showcasing the energy of those "half his age."
She adds:
"What does that say about his character? ... He's thinking about the other Republicans that have to win during these elections, and so that tells me that he's a great guy." ...
"Let's ask Hillary Clinton how fake the fake polls are. We don't pay those polls any mind. Obviously they are to deter our voters from going out and casting their vote. Conservatives, we are winning and we need not let anything stand in our way of bringing it all the way home to the bank."
Cheung captioned his video:
"Ladies and gentlemen, I think we may have found the new White House Press Secretary!"
You can see Cheung's video below.
The White House responded to Cheung's post with the "eyes" emoji.
Minaj herself replied with an American flag emjoi as well as a grinning face with sweat emoji.
Here's the thing though: Minaj, who was born in Trinidad and Tobago, is not a U.S. citizen and cannot vote in any elections or hold federal office—not that that's stopped her from sucking up to the Trumps.
Earlier this year, the rapper appeared at the Trump Accounts Summit in Washington, D.C., where she praised President Trump’s rollout of investment accounts for U.S.-born babies.
A provision in Trump’s tax legislation creates so-called “Trump Accounts,” which provide $1,000 for every newborn whose parents open an account. The funds are invested in the stock market by private firms, and the child can access the money upon turning 18. Minaj says she plans to contribute between $150,000 and $300,000 to the accounts.
Her support has paid off—afterward, she bragged that her application for U.S. citizenship is getting the fast-track treatment. Trump's "gold card" creates a fast track to U.S. citizenship for wealthy immigrants willing to pay $1 million, plus a $15,000 processing fee.
Minaj has acknowledged she is not a citizen, previously saying that people "would think that with the millions of dollars that I've paid in taxes to this country that I would have been given an honorary citizenship many, many, many thousands of years ago."
It is possible that her husband Kenneth Petty’s 1995 conviction for attempted first-degree rape of a 16-year-old would make Minaj ineligible for a green card through marriage. The couple were later sued by Petty’s accuser, Jennifer Hough, who alleged harassment, intimidation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Additionally, her closeness to the Trump administration has sparked speculation that she is trying to secure a presidential pardon for her brother, Jelani Maraj, who was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl at his Long Island home.
Minaj's gold card allows her to live in the United States without restriction, though she remains a non-citizen under the terms of the program. Minaj later dismissed critics who said she contributed to the "Trump Accounts" so she could resolve immigration troubles.
Given all this, people were not happy with Cheung over a video they see as beyond parody already.
If this does somehow play out—taking into account the norms the Trump administration breaks on a regular basis—we expect Minaj to crash and burn pretty quickly.
