The Michael Knowles Show - Ep. 1880

Title: JD Vance And Nicki Minaj COOK At AmFest
Date: December 22, 2025
Host: Michael Knowles (The Daily Wire)
Guests & Key Speakers: J.D. Vance, Nicki Minaj, Vivek Ramaswamy

Overview

This lively episode of The Michael Knowles Show dissects the bombastic atmosphere of America Fest (AmFest), focusing on the standout speeches of Vice President J.D. Vance and the unexpected yet impactful appearance of Nicki Minaj. Against the backdrop of conservative infighting and debates about the movement's future, Knowles draws parallels between Vance and Minaj’s messages on race and religion, explores the boundaries of American identity, and offers sharp cultural commentary—most notably on Disney’s race-swapped Santa Claus and the release of the Epstein files. The episode is a cocktail of political analysis, quotes from center-stage moments, and Knowles’ trademark sardonic tone.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. America Fest Recap: Conservative Podcast Infighting

[00:29-04:12]

• The fest was “explosive,” with podcasters attacking each other, showing public splits in the conservative movement.
• Vice President J.D. Vance delivered an “excellent, excellent speech”—in Knowles’ view the best of the weekend—by addressing the big cultural battles rather than engaging in loyalty tests and public denouncements.
• Nicki Minaj shocked the crowd with a surprise appearance, echoing similar themes.

2. J.D. Vance’s Speech: Race, Creed, and Coalition-Building

a) On Racial Politics

[04:12] J.D. Vance:

“You don’t have to apologize for being white anymore. And if you’re an Asian, you don’t have to talk around your skin color when you’re applying for college. Because we judge people based on who they are, not on ethnicity and things they can’t control.”
(04:12)

Analysis:

• Knowles celebrates this sentiment as “hitting it right out of the park,” noting this would have been unthinkable for conservatives a decade ago. The audience at AmFest signaled strong agreement.
• He connects it to the cultural shift—stating that “after decades of ideology telling people to feel bad about themselves if they're white, it’s become clear that this is totally unacceptable.”
• Knowles praises Vance for not being afraid to address “one of the elephants in the room” and for reflecting the current political moment.

b) On American Identity and Christianity

[06:15] J.D. Vance:

“The only thing that has truly served as an anchor of the United States of America is that we have been, and by the grace of God, we always will be, a Christian nation... Christianity is America’s creed. The shared moral language... our country’s major debates have always centered on how we could best, as a people, please God.”
(06:15)

Analysis:

• Knowles elaborates that Vance is not demanding everyone be Christian but framing Christianity as the shared “creed” that defines the nation—from the Founding Fathers to Lincoln to Reagan.
• The host reflects on how American identity is not purely about “stock and race” nor just “creed and ideas,” but a complex blend.
• Knowles lauds Vance for articulating the foundational Christian moral language as unifying, nuanced, and inclusive (while recognizing America's openness to others).

c) On Purity Tests, Coalitions, and Charlie Kirk’s Legacy

[10:36] J.D. Vance:

“President Trump did not build the greatest coalition in politics by running his supporters through endless self-defeating purity tests... If you love America... you have a home on this team. I didn’t bring a list of conservatives to denounce or to deplatform.”
(10:36)

“The best way to honor Charlie is that none of us here should be doing something after Charlie’s death that he himself refused to do in life.”
(11:32)

Analysis:

• Vance emphasizes building a broad, winning conservative coalition. He explicitly refuses to partake in the recent “denounce and deplatform” trend.
• He invokes the legacy of the late Charlie Kirk as a unifier who included diverse perspectives for the sake of winning and principles.
• Knowles supports this approach, arguing for “keeping our eyes on the prize” in politics—achieving moral and political victories, not just debating for its own sake.
• He critiques the tendency among conservatives for endless micro-splintering: “you get 100 conservatives in a room, they’re all going to want to slap each other... but we have to keep our eyes on the prize. This is politics. This is about winning.”

3. Nicki Minaj: A Cultural Wild Card Strikes a Chord

[19:29-21:43]

• Nicki Minaj enters with Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erica Kirk, and stuns the crowd by independently echoing the main points of Vance’s speech.

a) On Race and Beauty

[19:29] Nicki Minaj:

“If we felt like that as black women, why would we want to do that to other women? Why would we now need to make other people downplay their beauty so that we can feel—no, that’s not how it works… Why have we gotten to a point where certain colors or certain kinds of people have to be afraid of loving themselves and loving the way they look... Isn’t that wild?”
(19:29)

Knowles’ Commentary:

• He points out the direct correlation to Vance’s comments, paraphrasing: “you don’t have to apologize for being white,” and expands it to other groups.

b) On Religion and Political Leadership

[20:45] Nicki Minaj:

“There are people out there who felt good about chastising Christians right here in our country. And it’s kind of really, really sick... We cannot have people who have a problem with us worshiping God in power. We cannot have them in power.”
(20:45)

Knowles’ Commentary:

• Notes how Minaj, coming from a vastly different background than Vance, is hitting the same political-cultural points: pride in one’s identity and defending Christian faith in public life.
• Celebrates the formation of a “winning coalition”—“as polar opposite a cultural background as there can be in the United States... and yet not only do they agree broadly, they are agreeing point by bold point. That seems to me a winning coalition.”
• Notes Minaj’s history of speaking out for persecuted Christians, expanding the reach of the conservative message.

4. Defining “American Identity”: The Vivek Ramaswamy Perspective

[26:25-29:15]

• Vivek Ramaswamy critiques the idea of “heritage Americans” and the notion that lineage makes someone “more American.”

[26:25] Vivek Ramaswamy:

“This idea of the heritage American... says the truest form of an American is somebody who is a descendant of the American Revolution period. I think that’s about as loony as anything the woke left has actually put up. There’s no American who is more American than somebody else. It’s binary: either you’re an American or you’re not.”
(26:25)

Knowles’ Counterpoint:

• Acknowledges heritage groups are mostly ordinary, patriotic people, not elites.
• Finds Vivek’s view “partial truth”—asks, “Do you really believe that you are not more American than the guy who was naturalized yesterday?... No one really believes that.”
• Cites Thomas Aquinas and Aristotle, who believed acculturation takes generations, and argues that the ability to assimilate matters.
• Suggests that “the old slogans don’t necessarily work anymore” and calls for a more complex account of American identity in a changing nation.

5. Cultural Commentary: Disney’s Black Santa

[35:19-37:53]

• Knowles critiques Disney for replacing Santa Claus with a black Santa at its parks and ships.

[35:19] Michael Knowles:

“Santa Claus is not black. Santa Claus lives at the North Pole. There aren’t black people at the North Pole. If Santa Claus were black, that would mean he’s a recent immigrant—but he’s not. He’s an elf. He’s jolly and he has a bowl full of jelly... Stop trying to erase Santa Claus.”
(35:19)

• Explains Santa’s origins: rooted in Northern/Greek tradition, and that truth and logic are required for genuine inclusivity, not “incoherence.”
• Offers examples of authentically black saints (St. Moses the Black) as more appropriate cultural icons.
• The recurring theme: “Incoherence is not inclusive... what allows us to be inclusive is truth.”

6. Epstein Files Released: A Clinton-Focused Scandal

[41:42-44:20]

• New “Epstein files” are released, featuring images of Bill Clinton with women on Epstein’s properties and planes, and even Noam Chomsky on Epstein’s jet.
• Knowles stresses that the scandal was always “chiefly... a Democrat scandal” despite attempts to make it about Trump.
• Highlights the calculated political advantage in releasing the files now: “It’s brilliant politics... It refocused Epstein onto what it was always about.”

7. Briefs, News, and Teasers

• Reference to election integrity issues in Fulton County (Georgia) and the Wall Street Journal's throuple story.
• Commentary on the need to update conservative slogans and coalition strategies, letting go of “ghosts of Reagan” for modern challenges.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote/Remark | |-----------|---------------------|-------------| | 04:12 | J.D. Vance | “You don’t have to apologize for being white anymore...” | | 06:15 | J.D. Vance | “Christianity is America’s creed. The shared moral language...” | | 10:36 | J.D. Vance | “President Trump did not build the greatest coalition in politics by running supporters through endless self-defeating purity tests...” | | 11:32 | J.D. Vance | “None of us here should be doing something after Charlie’s death that he himself refused to do in life.” | | 19:29 | Nicki Minaj | “Why have we gotten to a point where certain colors or kinds of people have to be afraid of loving themselves?” | | 20:45 | Nicki Minaj | “We absolutely cannot let people who have a problem with us worshiping God be in power.” | | 26:25 | Vivek Ramaswamy | “Heritage Americans... is about as loony as anything the woke left has put up.” | | 35:19 | Michael Knowles | “Santa Claus is not black. Santa Claus lives at the North Pole...” |

Important Segments & Timestamps

• [04:12] J.D. Vance on racial politics
• [06:15] Vance on Christianity as America’s creed
• [10:36/11:32] Vance on coalitions and Charlie Kirk
• [19:29] Nicki Minaj on race, beauty, and self-love
• [20:45] Nicki Minaj on Christianity and political power
• [26:25] Vivek Ramaswamy on American identity
• [35:19] Knowles’ Santa Claus rant

Tone and Language

• Knowles’ tone is witty, combative, and satirical. He mixes deadpan mockery (“Santa Claus is not black... he’s a jolly old elf”) with earnest analysis (“we have to keep our eyes on the prize”).
• Guest speakers are quoted verbatim, maintaining their respective rhetorical styles—Vance’s measured statesmanship, Minaj’s exuberant candor, and Ramaswamy’s technocratic logic.

Conclusion

This episode showcased a surprising meeting of minds between J.D. Vance and Nicki Minaj on themes of identity, coalition, and creed, setting them up as ironic standard-bearers for a diversified, values-driven conservative movement. Knowles draws out these parallels while critiquing the left’s culture war excesses, lampooning corporate inclusivity, and urging conservatives to move past old slogans and factional squabbles toward building a resilient, winning coalition. The show is both a highlight reel of America Fest’s major ideological flashpoints and an audition for what the next phase of right-wing politics might look like—united not by purity but by principle and practical strategy.