Minnis using TikTok to regain FNM leadership

Former prime minister Dr. Hubert Minnis has found an unlikely new battleground in Bahamian politics: TikTok.

Once known for a stiff, aloof leadership style that alienated voters and contributed to the Free National Movement’s crushing defeat in the 2021 General Election, Minnis is now attempting a political reinvention through short videos and carefully curated clips aimed squarely at younger voters who largely rejected him when he was in office.

“I was trying to save the country,” is the core message running through his TikTok content as he defends his stance during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While his leadership was widely criticized at the time for sudden lockdowns announced with little notice and heavy-handed enforcement, he now claims those decisions prevented a far worse economic and health catastrophe. In a digital space dominated by short attention spans, he is betting that context can soften public memory.

At the same time, Minnis has begun reframing the economic debate, especially around Value Added Tax. He has repeatedly reminded his followers that VAT was first introduced by a Progressive Liberal Party government, an argument designed to shift blame toward current Prime Minister Philip Davis. Davis, however, has countered that narrative forcefully, noting that Minnis not only accepted VAT once in office but increased the rate after initially opposing its introduction.

The TikTok campaign is not just about rehabilitation, it is also about positioning.

With the 2026 General Election looming, many political observers believe the PLP could secure a second consecutive term, citing what they see as FNM leader Michael Pintard’s inability to energize the base or mobilize voters on election day. Minnis, watching closely from the sidelines, appears to be preparing for a scenario in which the party looks for a familiar name to lead it out of another defeat.

But that path is far from clear. Despite Minnis’s growing online popularity, powerful resistance remains within the FNM itself. Senior party figures, including former prime minister Hubert Ingraham and a former national campaign coordinator Dr. Nigel Lewis have made it clear they would oppose any attempt by Minnis to retake control of the party. For them, the memory of the FNM’s “spectacular defeat” in 2021 is still too fresh, and they view Minnis as unelectable baggage rather than a comeback candidate.