Brief: Nicki Minaj Goes MAGA

Conspirituality Podcast – Episode Brief: “Nicki Minaj Goes MAGA”

Hosts: Derek Beres, Julian Walker
Date: December 27, 2025

Overview:

This Conspirituality "Brief" unpacks the recent Turning Point USA’s America Fest 2025 (AMFest), focusing especially on the pop culture spectacle of Nicki Minaj’s sudden alignment with the MAGA right. Derek and Julian dissect AMFest’s potent blend of Christian nationalism, culture war rhetoric, and the ongoing convergence of wellness influencers, conspiracy theorists, and right-wing political operatives. They explore the conference as a case study in the marketing of victimhood and power within the modern American right, punctuated by moments such as Nicki Minaj’s awkward appearance and Russell Brand’s evangelical turn.

Key Topics & Discussion Points

1. Setting the Scene: AMFest 2025 and the MAGA Grift Machine

[03:33] Derek frames AMFest as a "shit show" that’s nonetheless an effective cash cow:

“We’d be foolish to overlook the fact that TP USA's reach has only grown since Charlie Kirk's death.” (Derek Beres)
- AMFest 2025 saw 30,000 attendees (a record), raising $84 million for TPUSA’s 2024 MAGA politics push.
[04:24] Julian remarks on the event’s undertones:

“The capacity to weaponize this sort of outrage and combine it into a rah rah... music festival, WWE Carnival kind of atmosphere... a moving island of misfit toys.”

2. Identity, Victimhood, and the “Christian Nationalist” Turn

[07:02] Reporting from Brandy Zadrozny (NBC News) notes that the women’s Q&A with Erica Kirk focused on “biohacking, divine timing, vitamin C, the dangers of Botox… and her grief, which felt heavy in the room.”
[07:54] Julian’s sarcasm:

“We need the Erica Kirk morning routine. Does she go Barefoot? ...does she do some butthole tanning?”

3. Nicki Minaj’s MAGA Moment [10:27]

[08:01] Derek outlines Minaj’s legal troubles and online speculation about her rightward drift, noting parallels to Russell Brand’s defensive posture following allegations.
[10:27] Erica Kirk asks Minaj “what is a man?” Minaj fumbles, makes an awkward “news scum” joke (a Newsom jab), and praises Trump’s handsomeness—eliciting confusion.
[11:13] Julian’s read:

“[Nicki’s] not really good at ad libbing in this weird situation… trying to find, trying to fumble her way into what the crowd will like… a disaster.”
[12:53] Discussion of Cardi B’s 2024 anti-Republican tweet, the years-long Minaj/Cardi B beef, and online speculation about Minaj’s “fears” given her and her family’s criminal exposures.

4. J.D. Vance, Christian Nationalism, and White Identity Politics

[13:59] After Vance’s “you don’t have to apologize for being white anymore” speech:

“Right, well, it’s over. You can be yourself now. You can be your white self.” (Derek, ironically) “It’s been decades … that I felt incredibly oppressed as a white male … it’s been a tough road.” (Julian, satirically)
[15:11] Michael Knowles’ “Team America” speech (see below for full quote) espouses heritage- and lineage-based nationalism, implying assimilation means adopting MAGA beliefs and (in Julian’s view) “coming to look like Michael Knowles.”

5. Historical Revisionism and White Supremacy

[18:01] Clip: Matt Walsh introduces his new “Real History” series, denying colonial and slavery atrocities:

“It’s time for a lesson on what they’re not teaching in public schools on the real history of slavery, of colonialism, of the Indians of America and the world. It’s time for Real History with Matt Walsh.”
[18:59] Julian’s assessment:

“This is straight up. White supremacy… It’s really disgusting.”
[19:24] Derek points to the rhetorical straw man: “No one ever said Americans invented slavery… he creates this caricature of the American left and then puts it out as if that’s what you’re taught in public schools.”

6. Infighting and MAGA Civil War

[20:34] Noted: Ben Shapiro and Tucker Carlson’s open feuding on the AMFest stage, mostly over Israel and Gaza.
[21:13] Derek’s projection:

“Historically… the only way that this sort of extremism… goes down is they eat themselves. …they will turn on each other because it’s not about community.”
Concerns about what damage is done “in the process”—given new hardline efforts on censorship and deregulation.

7. Brand, Wellness Influence, and Parasocial Grifts

[22:52] & [24:15] Russell Brand’s transformation from wellness yogi/comic to evangelical Christian nationalist at AMFest:

“We have not yet tried to create the Christian nation… I pray you can build a Christian America…” (Brand, [22:52])
[24:15] Julian:

“Brand… still has in the back of his mind: ‘I should be careful here because I’m not really American. I need to say, as a visitor…’”

8. Wellness, MAGA, and Manufactured Powerlessness

[28:10] Derek’s thesis:

“Their power is in pretending they’re powerless… The right, MAGA, controls every branch… but they have to pretend that they don’t have power.”
[30:21] On the distinction between “true” (Reagan-style) conservatives and radical MAGA wellness influencers:

“To call this radical political movement ‘conservative’ is truly unfair to actual conservatives.”

9. Alex Clark and the Wellness-Right Pipeline [31:06]

[31:06] Alex Clark’s AMFest speech ties “baby making health crisis” to culture wars:

“We are in the middle of a baby making health crisis and this is not a left right issue. This is a future, no future issue… There are lobbyists right now trying to infiltrate the conservative movement… If we care about Maha, we have to stay on main… Because a movement that won’t protect children’s bodies will not ever protect the country. Big Chemical, Big Ag and Big Food are trying to split MAGA from Maha so things can go back to business as usual. But we don’t want that, do we? There are people in this very room who would rather I not say what I’m about to say today. But I’m saying it anyway.” (Alex Clark, [31:06])
[32:07] Julian notes Clark’s polarizing stance:

“She’s very strongly trying to polarize… she’s in her own way trying to say, like, you, you’re gonna align with me against these imaginary enemies in the room who don’t want me to say this…”

Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

[04:24] Julian Walker:

“They know how to speak to their audience and they know how to draw in young people … Like you reference, you’ve got Russell Brand, Riley Gaines, and then Nicki Minaj. This is where it’s kind of like where people end up when all of their other options have … fallen apart.”
[07:02] Brandy Zadrozny (read by Derek):

“A line of young women, most Turning Point chapter leaders, came with … agreeable questions: Whether Erica [Kirk] preferred waffles or pancakes, … how to keep one’s femininity in a feminist world. … Her answers rambling, including biohacking, divine timing, vitamin C, the dangers of Botox…”
[13:59] Derek Beres (sarcastically, on J.D. Vance):

“Right, well, it’s over. You can, you can be yourself now. You can be your white self.”
[15:11] Michael Knowles:

“To be on the team, you have to acknowledge … we are a real people with a real historical lineage and a real historical destiny. We came here on the Mayflower… We spread across the continent… When it’s worked, those foreigners have come to act and talk and even look like us. When it hasn’t worked, they haven’t… If you prefer the flag of some other nation, the customs… you are not on my Team. If you are and want to be a member of the American people, you are on my team.”
[18:01] Matt Walsh:

“They told you America invented slavery. They told you the Indians were peaceful. … Trail of Tears, Smallpox, Blanket Smith, the Red Scare. It’s all baseless. It’s time for a lesson on what they’re not teaching in public schools… It’s time for Real History with Matt Walsh.”
[22:52] Russell Brand:

“We have not yet tried to create the Christian nation that America may yet become. … As an Englishman, as a visitor, I pray that you’re able to do it… I pray that in the name of the Son, the Father and the Holy Spirit.”
[31:06] Alex Clark:

“We are in the middle of a baby making health crisis and this is not a left right issue. This is a future, no future issue…”

Conclusion & Analysis

Theme Recap:
This episode deftly exposes how the modern right, and particularly the conspirituality-adjacent figures within it, fuse wellness grifts, Christian nationalism, and white identity politics into a self-reinforcing money-making machine. The co-hosts underscore the chronic self-victimization of actors who wield enormous power—structuring entire events and networks around the myth that they are marginalized and under threat, even as they control the levers of state and cultural power.

Notable Dynamics:

AMFest doubles as spectacle and recruitment for the new, reactionary right, drawing in mainstream influencers whose personal baggage (Brand, Minaj) makes them ripe for “redemption via rightward turn.”
The wellness pipeline (“Maha” – Make America Healthy Again) provides an easy gateway for culture war battle cries, and is nearly indistinguishable from MAGA politics.
MAGA infighting (Shapiro vs. Carlson, etc.) reveals the instability beneath the movement’s unity messaging.
Revisionist history and open white nationalism (Walsh, Knowles) are no longer dog whistles—they’re explicit.

Closing Note:
For listeners unfamiliar with AMFest or the conspirituality phenomenon, this episode offers a critical walkthrough of how far-right politics has merged seamlessly with culture war grievance, influencer marketing, and wellness ideology. The hosts’ biting humor and media literacy make clear the stakes in these rhetorical and political conflicts.

Timestamps for Key Segments

[03:33] – AMFest as Christian nationalist cash cow; rising attendance and revenue
[07:02] – Women’s Q&A with Erica Kirk; conspirituality lifestyle seeps in
[08:01-13:00] – Nicki Minaj’s legal troubles, MAGA drift, awkward onstage moments
[13:59-15:40] – J.D. Vance: “Don’t apologize for being white”; Julian’s and Derek’s satirical reactions
[15:11-17:12] – Michael Knowles’ “Team America” assimilation speech
[18:01-20:01] – Matt Walsh’s historical revisionism; Julian and Derek call out white supremacy
[22:52-24:15] – Russell Brand’s prayer for a US Christian nation
[28:10-30:21] – Power through victimhood; distinction between Reagan conservatives and MAGA
[31:06-32:56] – Alex Clark’s wellness/MAGA co-optation; Big Ag, “baby crisis,” and the policing of “Maha”

For further discussion and episode access:

Instagram/Threads: @conspiritualpod
Ad-free archives and Monday bonus content: patreon.com/conspirituality
Apple Podcasts: Subscribe for bonus episodes

Conspirituality Podcast – Episode Brief: “Nicki Minaj Goes MAGA”

Hosts: Derek Beres, Julian Walker
Date: December 27, 2025

Overview:

Key Topics & Discussion Points

1. Setting the Scene: AMFest 2025 and the MAGA Grift Machine

[03:33] Derek frames AMFest as a "shit show" that’s nonetheless an effective cash cow:

“We’d be foolish to overlook the fact that TP USA's reach has only grown since Charlie Kirk's death.” (Derek Beres)
- AMFest 2025 saw 30,000 attendees (a record), raising $84 million for TPUSA’s 2024 MAGA politics push.
[04:24] Julian remarks on the event’s undertones:

“The capacity to weaponize this sort of outrage and combine it into a rah rah... music festival, WWE Carnival kind of atmosphere... a moving island of misfit toys.”

2. Identity, Victimhood, and the “Christian Nationalist” Turn

[07:02] Reporting from Brandy Zadrozny (NBC News) notes that the women’s Q&A with Erica Kirk focused on “biohacking, divine timing, vitamin C, the dangers of Botox… and her grief, which felt heavy in the room.”
[07:54] Julian’s sarcasm:

“We need the Erica Kirk morning routine. Does she go Barefoot? ...does she do some butthole tanning?”

3. Nicki Minaj’s MAGA Moment [10:27]

[08:01] Derek outlines Minaj’s legal troubles and online speculation about her rightward drift, noting parallels to Russell Brand’s defensive posture following allegations.
[10:27] Erica Kirk asks Minaj “what is a man?” Minaj fumbles, makes an awkward “news scum” joke (a Newsom jab), and praises Trump’s handsomeness—eliciting confusion.
[11:13] Julian’s read:

“[Nicki’s] not really good at ad libbing in this weird situation… trying to find, trying to fumble her way into what the crowd will like… a disaster.”
[12:53] Discussion of Cardi B’s 2024 anti-Republican tweet, the years-long Minaj/Cardi B beef, and online speculation about Minaj’s “fears” given her and her family’s criminal exposures.

4. J.D. Vance, Christian Nationalism, and White Identity Politics

[13:59] After Vance’s “you don’t have to apologize for being white anymore” speech:

“Right, well, it’s over. You can be yourself now. You can be your white self.” (Derek, ironically) “It’s been decades … that I felt incredibly oppressed as a white male … it’s been a tough road.” (Julian, satirically)
[15:11] Michael Knowles’ “Team America” speech (see below for full quote) espouses heritage- and lineage-based nationalism, implying assimilation means adopting MAGA beliefs and (in Julian’s view) “coming to look like Michael Knowles.”

5. Historical Revisionism and White Supremacy

[18:01] Clip: Matt Walsh introduces his new “Real History” series, denying colonial and slavery atrocities:

“It’s time for a lesson on what they’re not teaching in public schools on the real history of slavery, of colonialism, of the Indians of America and the world. It’s time for Real History with Matt Walsh.”
[18:59] Julian’s assessment:

“This is straight up. White supremacy… It’s really disgusting.”
[19:24] Derek points to the rhetorical straw man: “No one ever said Americans invented slavery… he creates this caricature of the American left and then puts it out as if that’s what you’re taught in public schools.”

6. Infighting and MAGA Civil War

[20:34] Noted: Ben Shapiro and Tucker Carlson’s open feuding on the AMFest stage, mostly over Israel and Gaza.
[21:13] Derek’s projection:

“Historically… the only way that this sort of extremism… goes down is they eat themselves. …they will turn on each other because it’s not about community.”
Concerns about what damage is done “in the process”—given new hardline efforts on censorship and deregulation.

7. Brand, Wellness Influence, and Parasocial Grifts

[22:52] & [24:15] Russell Brand’s transformation from wellness yogi/comic to evangelical Christian nationalist at AMFest:

“We have not yet tried to create the Christian nation… I pray you can build a Christian America…” (Brand, [22:52])
[24:15] Julian:

“Brand… still has in the back of his mind: ‘I should be careful here because I’m not really American. I need to say, as a visitor…’”

8. Wellness, MAGA, and Manufactured Powerlessness

[28:10] Derek’s thesis:

“Their power is in pretending they’re powerless… The right, MAGA, controls every branch… but they have to pretend that they don’t have power.”
[30:21] On the distinction between “true” (Reagan-style) conservatives and radical MAGA wellness influencers:

“To call this radical political movement ‘conservative’ is truly unfair to actual conservatives.”

9. Alex Clark and the Wellness-Right Pipeline [31:06]

[31:06] Alex Clark’s AMFest speech ties “baby making health crisis” to culture wars:

“We are in the middle of a baby making health crisis and this is not a left right issue. This is a future, no future issue… There are lobbyists right now trying to infiltrate the conservative movement… If we care about Maha, we have to stay on main… Because a movement that won’t protect children’s bodies will not ever protect the country. Big Chemical, Big Ag and Big Food are trying to split MAGA from Maha so things can go back to business as usual. But we don’t want that, do we? There are people in this very room who would rather I not say what I’m about to say today. But I’m saying it anyway.” (Alex Clark, [31:06])
[32:07] Julian notes Clark’s polarizing stance:

“She’s very strongly trying to polarize… she’s in her own way trying to say, like, you, you’re gonna align with me against these imaginary enemies in the room who don’t want me to say this…”

Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

[04:24] Julian Walker:

“They know how to speak to their audience and they know how to draw in young people … Like you reference, you’ve got Russell Brand, Riley Gaines, and then Nicki Minaj. This is where it’s kind of like where people end up when all of their other options have … fallen apart.”
[07:02] Brandy Zadrozny (read by Derek):

“A line of young women, most Turning Point chapter leaders, came with … agreeable questions: Whether Erica [Kirk] preferred waffles or pancakes, … how to keep one’s femininity in a feminist world. … Her answers rambling, including biohacking, divine timing, vitamin C, the dangers of Botox…”
[13:59] Derek Beres (sarcastically, on J.D. Vance):

“Right, well, it’s over. You can, you can be yourself now. You can be your white self.”
[15:11] Michael Knowles:

“To be on the team, you have to acknowledge … we are a real people with a real historical lineage and a real historical destiny. We came here on the Mayflower… We spread across the continent… When it’s worked, those foreigners have come to act and talk and even look like us. When it hasn’t worked, they haven’t… If you prefer the flag of some other nation, the customs… you are not on my Team. If you are and want to be a member of the American people, you are on my team.”
[18:01] Matt Walsh:

“They told you America invented slavery. They told you the Indians were peaceful. … Trail of Tears, Smallpox, Blanket Smith, the Red Scare. It’s all baseless. It’s time for a lesson on what they’re not teaching in public schools… It’s time for Real History with Matt Walsh.”
[22:52] Russell Brand:

“We have not yet tried to create the Christian nation that America may yet become. … As an Englishman, as a visitor, I pray that you’re able to do it… I pray that in the name of the Son, the Father and the Holy Spirit.”
[31:06] Alex Clark:

“We are in the middle of a baby making health crisis and this is not a left right issue. This is a future, no future issue…”

Conclusion & Analysis

Notable Dynamics:

AMFest doubles as spectacle and recruitment for the new, reactionary right, drawing in mainstream influencers whose personal baggage (Brand, Minaj) makes them ripe for “redemption via rightward turn.”
The wellness pipeline (“Maha” – Make America Healthy Again) provides an easy gateway for culture war battle cries, and is nearly indistinguishable from MAGA politics.
MAGA infighting (Shapiro vs. Carlson, etc.) reveals the instability beneath the movement’s unity messaging.
Revisionist history and open white nationalism (Walsh, Knowles) are no longer dog whistles—they’re explicit.

Timestamps for Key Segments

[03:33] – AMFest as Christian nationalist cash cow; rising attendance and revenue
[07:02] – Women’s Q&A with Erica Kirk; conspirituality lifestyle seeps in
[08:01-13:00] – Nicki Minaj’s legal troubles, MAGA drift, awkward onstage moments
[13:59-15:40] – J.D. Vance: “Don’t apologize for being white”; Julian’s and Derek’s satirical reactions
[15:11-17:12] – Michael Knowles’ “Team America” assimilation speech
[18:01-20:01] – Matt Walsh’s historical revisionism; Julian and Derek call out white supremacy
[22:52-24:15] – Russell Brand’s prayer for a US Christian nation
[28:10-30:21] – Power through victimhood; distinction between Reagan conservatives and MAGA
[31:06-32:56] – Alex Clark’s wellness/MAGA co-optation; Big Ag, “baby crisis,” and the policing of “Maha”

For further discussion and episode access:

Instagram/Threads: @conspiritualpod
Ad-free archives and Monday bonus content: patreon.com/conspirituality
Apple Podcasts: Subscribe for bonus episodes

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Summary

Conspirituality Podcast – Episode Brief: “Nicki Minaj Goes MAGA”

Overview:

Key Topics & Discussion Points

1. Setting the Scene: AMFest 2025 and the MAGA Grift Machine

2. Identity, Victimhood, and the “Christian Nationalist” Turn

3. Nicki Minaj’s MAGA Moment [10:27]

4. J.D. Vance, Christian Nationalism, and White Identity Politics

5. Historical Revisionism and White Supremacy

6. Infighting and MAGA Civil War

7. Brand, Wellness Influence, and Parasocial Grifts

8. Wellness, MAGA, and Manufactured Powerlessness

9. Alex Clark and the Wellness-Right Pipeline [31:06]

Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

Conclusion & Analysis

Timestamps for Key Segments

Summary

Conspirituality Podcast – Episode Brief: “Nicki Minaj Goes MAGA”

Overview:

Key Topics & Discussion Points

1. Setting the Scene: AMFest 2025 and the MAGA Grift Machine

2. Identity, Victimhood, and the “Christian Nationalist” Turn

3. Nicki Minaj’s MAGA Moment [10:27]

4. J.D. Vance, Christian Nationalism, and White Identity Politics

5. Historical Revisionism and White Supremacy

6. Infighting and MAGA Civil War

7. Brand, Wellness Influence, and Parasocial Grifts

8. Wellness, MAGA, and Manufactured Powerlessness

9. Alex Clark and the Wellness-Right Pipeline [31:06]

Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

Conclusion & Analysis

Timestamps for Key Segments