President Donald Trump joked that rapper Nicki Minaj began twerking after hearing a warning to "get down" during a shooting scare [1].
The remarks occurred during the rescheduled White House Correspondents' Dinner on July 24, 2026. The event served as a follow-up to a disrupted gathering in April 2026, when a shooting scare forced attendees to seek cover [2].
Speaking at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, D.C., Trump reflected on the chaos of the previous event while honoring the individuals who responded to the crisis [3]. He used the moment to roast the media and the nature of the panic that ensued during the initial dinner [4].
"Get down! — that’s what made Nicki Minaj start twerking," Trump said [5].
Trump continued by praising the artist's talent while maintaining the joke. "I love Nicki Minaj, she’s a great performer, but she was twerking when we shouted ‘Get down!’" he said [6].
He further described the scene as a "wild moment" while he was in the process of honoring the shooting heroes [7].
The atmosphere of the rescheduled gala differed significantly from the original April event. Reports indicate the July dinner had about a quarter of the attendees compared with the April event [8].
Despite the smaller crowd, the comments regarding the rapper quickly gained traction online. Trump's approach of mixing tributes to first responders with humor regarding the panic of the April scare characterized the tone of the evening [3].
“"Get down! — that’s what made Nicki Minaj start twerking,"”
The President's use of humor to address a security breach highlights a strategy of leveraging viral moments to pivot away from the gravity of a shooting scare. By framing the panic of the April 2026 event through a joke about a celebrity, the administration attempted to neutralize the tension of the original disruption while maintaining a public image of resilience and levity.
