Here is my summary of Ms. Goodwin's answer to one question about the historical nature of Presidential leadership in times of crisis: (I included much of her own wording.)
We are facing a triple crisis: pandemic, economic fallout and search for racial justice and in the midst of that we hope would be a leader who would have the ability, skills, and temperament to mobilize all of the national resources, to provide national direction to bring the country together.
During the Depression, (and WWII) - what mattered and what worked is that Franklin Delano Roosevelt knew you had to have action and move. President Hoover couldn’t change his ideology that the federal government should not be involved in local and state governments. Hoover could not act but only get excited and say there is an uptick in the economy, the stock market, went up! {Does this sound familiar?!!} But to deny the realities of the moment when you are a leader in a crisis is the real problem because the ground will catch up with you.
What FDR did as a governor in NY, with no national leadership, he took action. He starts unemployment insurance, and public works jobs. He takes responsibility for dealing with the crisis. That is what catapults him into the Presidency. When FDR runs, Hoover has to defend his non-action. FDR, says let’s get together, have collective action, we are going to work as a team, it’s going to be like a war. He produced the action. The people then say, we finally have a leader!
Collective action of a nation as a whole is a central key to dealing with any of the crises as a team, much less the triple crises that we are experiencing now.
Back to me: Trump is unable to respond to these national crises because it is not in his makeup or mode of operation at all. I kept thinking at some point, he would pivot. He will never pivot and never speak for the entire nation. He is a reality tv show presence and his instincts are no masks, no social distancing, in favor of the photo op and everything revolves around re-election. (per Bolton and his actions) And it doesn't matter who he puts at risk in order to have that photo op or event. In his Fourth of July speeches, he doubled down on White Nationalism. He uses race baiting rhetoric to appeal to his base which worked in 2016 with the caravans. Yet we were not in the middle of a pandemic, economic downturn and racial turmoil that he refuses to address other than standing for the Confederacy and monuments over human beings. We have to address our history and put the monuments in museums. Looking at the past, reckoning with it with new eyes and receiving education of history and current times that we do not know. I didn't know about Tulsa or Rosewood. I didn't know about the mass incarceration rate of black men versus white men which is about five to one. The system for profit for corporations in the prison system is diabolical to keep numbers. I didn't know about the clause in the 13th Amendment which although it freed slaves it allowed black men to be rounded up for minor offenses, and lose their freedom forever. The powers in charge, needed labor to make up the loss of four million slaves.
Back to Presidential leadership. These are the traits we need in a time of crisis:
Humility and empathy, acknowledgment of facts with hope, surrounded by a strong team and set an example and share a sense of mission.
Donald Trump does not have these traits and never will. His diagnosable extensive Narcissism does not allow him to look at the big picture. Even as the governors began leading the war on Covid19, he would get jealous when one got attention over their leadership skills, so he fought with them. And most negligent, he turned wearing masks, the only method along with social distancing that we have to combat the spread of the virus, into a political divide.
Could you imagine if he did wear a mask, promote social distancing, and be the leader to head up all the governors and local officials in the war against Covid19? He could be the general of the war on Covid and be lauded for that but he is incapable of taking on those reins. His poll numbers would rise. He tried out the moniker of a war leader for a half of a second but being a general takes fortitude, patience, long term direction and acceptance of facts... He could express empathy about the 135,000 lives that have been lost and comfort our country.
The problem is he doesn't know how to comfort himself because his ego needs constant stroking. He likes chaos and he's got it as does the rest of our country and the world. We are leading the world in infections. He's winning that number in the most advanced country in the world because he's ignoring the virus and hoping it will magically go away. Trump won't allow the infectious disease experts speak, and they have to tiptoe around him because he and he alone wants the spotlight and... re-election. At this point, his personality defects are impacting the country with death, economic destruction and inflicting more pain on racial minorities who have had enough pain for too many generations. He could take it on, and turn the tide but he is clearly incapable.
Namaste.
