The corporate press has found an unlikely new public enemy No. 1 in rapper Nicki Minaj. The rap star, along with U.N. Ambassador Mike Waltz, addressed the United Nations on Tuesday on the topic of the genocide against Christians in Nigeria at the hands of Muslim terrorist groups.
“I would like to thank President [Donald] Trump for prioritizing this issue and for his leadership on the global stage in calling for urgent action to defend Christians in Nigeria,” Minaj said. ”Today, faith is under attack in way too many places in Nigeria. 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.”
NICKI MINAJ SAYS NIGERIAN CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION DEMANDS ‘URGENT ACTION’
You would think that such a sentiment would be received with universal praise, at least within Christendom, but you would be underestimating the legacy media’s depravity and utter devotion to opposing, quite literally, any move made by the Trump administration. Predictably, after the administration designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern last month, journalists took it upon themselves to downplay the carnage taking place in the African country with the second-highest Christian population, and they have now set their sights on Minaj.
Rolling Stone accused Minaj of “spreading misinformation” and attempted to support its claim by quoting an Al Jazeera op-ed by an assistant to Nigeria’s president and an interview with a Nigerian human rights lawyer named Bumala Bukarti, who told ABC News that the violence is “indiscriminate” and “affects both faiths.” Of course, this is untrue.
Reports show that 125,000 Christians have been killed by Muslim terrorists in Nigeria since 2009, as well as over 60,000 non-Islamist Muslims. Additionally, 19,000 churches have been burned or otherwise destroyed by terrorists since the Boko Haram uprising, and north of 12 million Christians have been forced out of their homes. The 125,000 number alone is nearly double the total casualties on the Palestinian side of the Gaza War, and that includes both combatants and civilians. Last time I checked, journalists and Democrats have not hesitated to classify Israel’s actions in the war as genocide.
BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL: THE GENOCIDE THE LEFT IGNORES
It was to be expected that corporate media would brand Minaj as part of the Make America Great Again coalition to discredit her speech highlighting the plight of her Christian brothers and sisters, but even some on the fringe Right have attempted to downplay the genocide, presumably because it doesn’t fit into their preferred narrative. Commentator Tucker Carlson had on his show attorney Bob Amsterdam, who downplayed the slaughter of Christians in Nigeria. Carlson gave no pushback despite the fact that Amsterdam worked for Nasir el Rufai, a Nigerian politician who has long been involved personally in the persecution of Christians.
Mainstream journalists will continue to oppose anything coming from a Republican White House, and Israel-obsessed pundits will continue to ignore any conflict that doesn’t involve Jews. But Trump was right to highlight the Nigerian genocide that has dragged on for the last 16 years. Journalists should take note of Minaj’s moral clarity and the courage it took to speak the truth alongside a presidential administration that is hated by a majority of her fans.
Brady Leonard (@bradyleonard) is a musician, political strategist, and host of The No Gimmicks Podcast.
