‘Trump slogan’ gives FF Plus candidate a major boost

Freedom Front Plus candidate Wesley Jacobs achieved excellent results in the recent Ward 57 by-election, which includes Die Hoewes, Lyttelton Manor, and Lyttelton.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) retained the ward, but the biggest story was the surge in support for Freedom Front Plus candidate Wesley Jacobs.

The DA received 54% of the vote in the ward, followed by the Freedom Front Plus with 44%. This was a much narrower margin than in previous years.

In the 2021 local government elections, the Freedom Front Plus could only secure 16% of the votes in this Ward.

This means that the party increased its support in Die Hoewes, Lyttelton Manor, and Lyttelton by 28 percentage points.

The Freedom Front Plus also won two of the three polling stations, a clear sign of growing support in the area.

“This growth shows that the residents of Ward 57 have noticed Wesley and the party’s dedicated work and rewarded it with their votes,” the party said.

These results also show that the FF Plus will play an important role in the coalition likely to be established in the Tshwane Metro at the end of 2026.

“It also shows that neither the DA nor any other party can govern on its own,” the party said in a statement following the by-election.

“This by-election is not the final destination, but a positive first step towards the local government elections later this year.”

An interesting fact about Jacobs’s campaign in this election is that he used a version of the famous Trump slogan, Make America Great Again.

Although the slogan is often attributed to Trump, who used it to win two United States Presidential elections, it has a long history.

Former US President Ronald Reagan first popularised “Let’s Make America Great Again” during his 1980 campaign against Jimmy Carter.

Another former US President, Bill Clinton, also used the phrase in several speeches during his first run for the presidency.

Donald Trump trademarked ‘Make America Great Again’ in 2015 and made the red MAGA hat the central icon of his movement.

In the Ward 57 by-elections, Jacobs used the phrase “Let’s Make Ward 57 Great”, a variation of the “Let’s Make America Great Again” phrase.

This was an interesting decision, as the phrase is closely associated with Trump, a divisive politician. However, Jacobs showed that the strategy worked.

In many circles, the phrase is associated with conservative values, which a large portion of South Africans feel comfortable with.

Political and economic expert Frans Cronje has frequently argued that South Africans are far more moderate and conservative than the political rhetoric suggests.

Cronje has stated that roughly 8 out of 10 South Africans across all racial groups can be classified as moderate, centrist, or Christian conservative.

Ideologically, this group is more closely aligned with Trump’s values than those of the left, which may explain the success of Jacobs’ “Let’s Make Ward 57 Great” campaign.

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Freedom Front Plus candidate Wesley Jacobs’ campaign

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