As part of the 2025 Imbizo Calendar of engagement activities, the Stellenbosch University (SU) Centre for the Advancement of Social Impact and Transformation on Tuesday, 6 May 2025, hosted a lecture at the Old Luckhoff building. Distinguished Professor of Education Policy Studies, Johnathan Jansen, was invited to give a keynote address on “Navigating the effects of the Trump administration on South Africa".
Prof Jansen started off by explaining that he would be focussing on the following four points concerning the Trump administration effect:
“The first is, what exactly is happening in the land of the free? Secondly, what makes the rise of the authoritarian leader possible in a country that for decades projected itself as a beacon of democracy to the world? Thirdly, what explains the overwhelming support of white evangelical Christians for Donald Trump? And finally, how does all of this affect South African universities?"
Jansen explained the term authoritarianism in the context of the United States of America by describing how Americans had plunged the rest of the world in crisis by voting in President Donald Trump for a second term as president of the United States. Jansen suggested that since coming back for his second term, Trump had gone out of his way to decapacitate any institution that he felt worked against him.
Jansen went on to define the leadership style of President Trump as that of authoritarianism: “Authoritarianism is the repression of your opponents. It's not enough to disagree with them. You must repress them. So not only does this man want to concentrate power in himself, he wants to make sure that he exercises that power over cultural institutions."
Jansen, an evangelical Christian, explained how surprised he was that a majority of Trump's supporters were evangelical Christians.
“The truth is uncomfortable," Jansen noted. “But when evangelicals defend and elevate such a figure, it reveals a disturbing alignment of values not with Christ, but with power, whiteness, and control."
Jansen emphasised that he associated the loyalty of Trump's evangelical followers with a deeper cultural and racial anxiety, and a fear of losing power in an increasingly diverse society. According to Jansen, Trump has become a “symbol of defiance against change".
The current wave of xenophobic attacks in South Africa is an issues that our universities cannot ignore. “When democracy is under threat in one part of the world, especially in influential nations, the effects are felt globally. The undermining of academic freedom, and the normalisation of racial scapegoating, all these tendencies seep into our own institutions," Jansen said.
He warned that South African universities must stay vigilant in protecting academic integrity and resisting political interference.
“Over the past couple of weeks there has been an orchestrated campaign of misinformation on the number and character of applicants from elsewhere on the continent, and in particular Zimbabwe, who are employed," Jansen said. He believes the origin of individuals should never be a factor when determining employment at universities. “A university is not a country. You hire the best talent anywhere in the world."
As his lecture concluded, the audience engaged Prof Jansen with questions and comments about his lecture, some raising questions on how former President Barack Obama's tenure of presidency could have led to the return of Trump and the authoritarian leadership style.
Prof Guy Midgley, Director at the SU School for Climate Studies, challenged Prof Jansen's view on evangelic Christians stating that, “It goes much deeper than a simplistic view of white evangelical Christians." Midgley also affirmed that he believed there was no comparison between black support of the Democratic Alliance in South Africa and black support of Trump in the US.
Jansen ended the lecture by emphasising the need for people to understand the ripple effect of international events on their daily lives.
