A pop star has the power to influence the locations where America drops bombs. It sounds absurd, yet here we are. President Donald Trump announced missile strikes in Nigeria on Christmas Day 2025, using a justification eerily similar to rapper Nicki Minaj's recent UN speech.
The 79-year-old commander-in-chief spent December 25, 2025, announcing lethal airstrikes while most people unwrapped presents. However, the true significance lies in how closely Trump's justification echoed the rapper's November UN address, almost verbatim. The Nigerian government, however, has rejected the narrative that the violence is primarily religious persecution.
Trump's Christmas Day Announcement Shocks Global Community
Just before 6 p.m. ET on Christmas Day, Trump took to social media with an announcement that turned holiday cheer into geopolitical controversy. His post detailed strikes targeting what he called 'ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria'.
'Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!', Trump wrote.
The President framed the military action as retribution promised and delivered. 'I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was', he stated.
Trump's sign-off became the most widely shared element: 'May God Bless our Military, and MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, including the dead Terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues'. US Africa Command (Africom) confirmed the strikes to The Hill, stating the military action was taken 'at the request of Nigerian authorities in Soboto State killing multiple ISIS terrorists'.
How Nicki Minaj Positioned Herself as Trump's Voice on Nigerian Christian Persecution
The groundwork for Trump's military action was laid six weeks earlier by an unlikely advocate. Nicki Minaj's 18 November appearance at the United Nations alongside US Ambassador Mike Waltz marked a stunning political evolution for the 42-year-old entertainer.
Once a vocal Trump critic, Minaj has completed what political observers call a full 'MAGA conversion'. Her recent speech at Turning Point USA cemented this transformation, praising the President effusively before her UN appearance.
At the United Nations, Minaj delivered remarks that now read like a blueprint for Trump's Christmas announcement. The parallels between her advocacy and his military justification are unmistakable.
'I would like to thank President Trump for prioritizing this issue and his leadership on the global stage in calling for urgent action to defend Christians in Nigeria and to combat extremism and to bring a stop to violence against those who simply want to express their natural right to freedom of religion or belief', Minaj told the assembly.
She painted Nigeria's crisis in stark, emotional terms. 'Religious freedom means we all can sing our faith regardless of who we are, where we live, and what we believe. But today, faith is under attack in way too many places', she said. 'Christians are being targeted, driven from their homes and killed. Churches have been burned, families have been torn apart, and entire communities live in fear constantly simply because of how they pray'.
@theipaper The US has confirmed military strikes in northwestern Nigeria, following claims by President Donald Trump that militants have been targeting Christians. The issue has also been raised by pop star Nicki Minaj, who spoke at the United Nations in November alongside US Ambassador Mike Waltz, drawing attention to violence in the country. She has not commented on the latest US strikes. Jihadist groups have killed thousands of people over more than a decade, with most attacks concentrated in northeastern Nigeria. But Nigeria’s government has rejected claims of religious targeting, saying attacks affect both Christians and Muslims and that describing the country as religiously intolerant is a “gross exaggeration.” #DonaldTrump #Nigeria #NickiMinaj #TiktokNews #usairstrikes #fyp
♬ Minimal for news / news suspense(1169746) - Hiraoka Kotaro
Nigeria Rejects 'Persecution' Narrative
Whilst Minaj's celebrity status and Trump's presidential authority have amplified their message, Nigerian government officials paint an entirely different picture of the violence plaguing their nation. President Bola Tinubu rejected the persecution narrative in November, stating that describing Nigeria as religiously intolerant 'does not reflect our national reality.' His spokesperson called the allegations a 'gross exaggeration,' noting that terrorist attacks kill both Christians and Muslims indiscriminately.
Human rights researchers support this more complex analysis. They point to insurgency, banditry, and severe economic pressure as the primary drivers of violence rather than organised religious persecution.
The human toll of violence in Nigeria remains devastating, regardless of underlying causes. From October 2019 to September 2023, all forms of violence claimed 30,880 civilian lives, including 16,769 Christians, according to the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA). Terrorist groups like Boko Haram, ISWAP, and ISIS affiliates contributed significantly through targeted community attacks. Over the same period, kidnappings exploded, with ORFA documenting 21,621 abductions in 2,705 incidents across the region.
As international debate intensifies over the strikes, Minaj has gone silent. The rapper who championed intervention at the UN has offered no public comment on the Christmas Day bombings she helped advocate for.
