Nicki Minaj Urges Vote for Blakeman, Attacks Hochul

Rapper Nicki Minaj urged New York voters to support Republican Bruce Blakeman and attacked Gov. Kathy Hochul in a series of posts on X, prompting Hochul to dismiss the criticism. Minaj called Hochul an “evil woman” and wrote that she would “not escape God’s wrath,” while arguing that the Democratic Party should forfeit Hochul’s seat. In a subsequent post, Minaj appealed specifically to Black voters and Christians to back Blakeman, Hochul’s Republican opponent in the Nov. 3 gubernatorial election. Minaj tied her criticism to Hochul’s earlier comments about Black children in the Bronx who did not know what a computer was. Minaj shared a clip of the remarks and accused Hochul of failing to speak out about harm to innocent people. The reports do not establish what prompted Minaj’s initial attack beyond the references in her posts. Asked by reporters about Minaj’s remarks, Hochul said the rapper should get outside and stop going to Trump rallies, which she said were “poisoning” Minaj’s mind. Hochul’s response followed Minaj’s recent public support for President Donald Trump and Republican candidates. Blakeman welcomed the attention and urged Minaj to help him defeat Hochul. Earlier...