The Trump administration has tapped rapper Nicki Minaj to serve as one of the celebrity judges for the Small Business Administration’s Million Dollar Pitch Competition.
Minaj will join entrepreneur and real estate investor Grant Cardone, Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia, and actor Dean Cain, who will host the competition’s Sept. 18 finale in Washington, D.C. Five small businesses will pitch their companies for a share of $1 million in growth capital.
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SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler said the competition would bring “boardroom energy” to the nation’s capital.
“Great American entrepreneurs themselves, Nicki Minaj, Grant Cardone, Joe Gebbia, and Dean Cain will only add to the excitement of this historic celebration of free enterprise,” Loeffler said. “Their presence will be invaluable in highlighting the unique and inspiring stories of the five finalists competing for $1 million in growth capital, and the importance of Main Street businesses in powering American strength.”
Minaj’s participation comes after she aligned herself with Trump and praised the president publicly.
Minaj has also referred to herself as Trump’s likely “number one fan,” defending the president against what she characterized as efforts to bully and smear him.
“We’re not going to let them get away with bullying him and, you know, the smear campaigns. It’s not going to work,” Minaj said. “He has a lot of force behind him, and God is protecting him.”
Trump introduced Minaj at a July White House event, calling her “so respected and so hot and so great” and “such a great friend” of what he described as “common sense.”
“She’s a fantastic person, and she’s a woman that’s respected by everybody, and she’s got real talent,” Trump said, referring to Minaj.
Loeffler previewed the competition during an appearance Tuesday on Fox News’s Fox & Friends, saying the SBA hopes to bring the event to a broad audience.
“We’re hoping to get it out to everyone,” Loeffler said, adding that Trump “understands small business is big business.”
The five finalists competing in Washington are Compotech Inc. of Brewer, Maine; Winton Machine of Suwanee, Georgia; Plas-Tech Tooling of Garner, Iowa; Red River of Gillette, Wyoming; and VetPowered LLC of San Diego, California.
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The finalists will compete for five cash prizes funded by Clover: $400,000 for first place, $250,000 for second, $150,000 for third, $125,000 for fourth, and $75,000 for fifth.
The SBA is promoting the event as part of its broader Freedom 250 initiatives.
