Cardi B calls Trump a 'terrorist' in message of support for Iranian people

Grammy-winning rapper Cardi B denounced President Donald Trump on social media over the killing of top Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.
3 min read
09 January, 2020
Artist Cardi B called President Trump a 'terrorist' [FilmMagic/Getty]
Cardi B called US President Donald Trump a "terrorist" on Wednesday, voicing her support for the Iranian people amid a bitter stand off between her country and Iran.

"Voice of Iranians. They not terrorist. Trump is," the Grammy-winning rapper posted on her Instagram alongside an emotional news clip of Iran.

"Is this democracy? Are we humans or not? What should we do? You do tell us," an Iranian man tells a news reporter in the clip that appears to be taken from ABC's Nightline programme.

"I'm saying, we love Americans but we hate your President."

Cardi B's post sent a distinct message to the rapper's 57 and a half million Instagram followers just as President Trump signalled he was stepping back from the brink of war with Iran.

Trump said Tehran appeared to be "standing down" Wednesday after firing missiles - without causing casualties - at US troops based in Iraq.

Instagram Post

The comments cooled what threatened to become an uncontrolled boiling over of tensions after Trump ordered the killing last Friday of a top Iranian general, Qasem Soleimani.

Read more: A decades-long battle: The Iran-US rivalry explained

Cardi B's post received almost three million likes and over a hundred thousand comments. Many of her fans commended her for using her platform to speak up for Iranians, while others expressed their dissapointing in her anti-Trump message.

Nigerian citizenship

Meanwhile, Cardi B's announcement that she wants to seek Nigerian citizenship has set off a Twitter feud between her West African fans in friendly rivals Nigeria and Ghana.

The Grammy-winning rapper visited both countries last month on her African tour.

Her announcement came in a tweet on Friday criticised the US airstrike in Iraq that killed commander Soleimani and sent Middle East tensions soaring.

"Its sad this man is putting Americans live in danger. Dumbest move Trump did till date ... I'm filing for my Nigerian citizenship," she tweeted.

Many in West Africa saw her tweet as proof that she preferred Nigeria.

Ghanaians were quick to point out the pitfalls of living in Africa's most populous nation, where traffic jams and power cuts are more visible than opulent nightclubs and luxury hotels.

"Hope you have a generator to power your house (because) they don’t have light but we do," one user tweeted, adding an emoticon of a Ghana flag.

Some fans in Ghana expressed concern for her safety, warning about the Nigeria-based Islamic extremist group Boko Haram.

But most Nigerian fans were quick to offer up a passport exchange, underscoring the mix of pride and confusion that the 27-year-old star would prefer Nigeria to America.

Cardi B, who was born Belcalis Almanzar, is of Afro-Caribbean descent, tracing her roots to Trinidad and the Dominican Republic.

It was not immediately clear how the rapper might acquire citizenship in Nigeria, though a number of celebrities have recently been given honorary citizenship in other African countries.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram to stay connected