White House press secretary buzz around Nicki Minaj revives questions over whether the Trinidad-born rapper is even a US citizen

Rapper Nicki Minaj, 43, flew with Trump on Air Force One and appeared at his Michigan midterm rally on Sunday, prompting White House communications director Steven Cheung to joke in a post that they had "found the new White House Press Secretary." The speculation comes after Katie Zacharia's five-day stint as press secretary ended with her firing earlier this month, leaving the position open. Minaj, who was born in Trinidad and has publicly stated she is not a US citizen, faces questions about whether she could legitimately encourage Americans to vote in the November 3 midterms.

Minaj said in January she was 'finalising that citizenship paperwork', but no public confirmation of completed naturalisation exists.

Prediction markets give Minaj just a 2-4% chance of the role; CNN's Scott Jennings and deputy press secretary Anna Kelly lead the field.

Trump told the Michigan crowd he had spotted Minaj's 'beautiful ass' — 'That's hard to miss' — before she called him her 'number one fan'.