When distinguished American journalist Bob Woodward revealed that US President Donald Trump haddeliberately downplayedthe serious nature of the Covid-19 pandemic earlier this year, it answered a big question. Before that point, it was unclear if President Trump had been ignorant of the nature of the virus that was spreading around the globe, or if hewas deliberately downplaying its severity. In January, whenCovid-19 emerged in China and theWorldHealthOrganisation issued itsfirst warnings, Trump insisted it was all "ahoax." Amonth later, he said it could be treated “like theflu”. Did he genuinely believe this, or was he trying to calmpeople down? The publicity for Woodward’s book Rage , based on interviews with the 45th President, left us in no doubt. The tapes of the interviews show Trump knew what was coming, the dangers his country faced – and that he did not inform the public. He made a strategic decision to prioritise the markets, the economy, central planks of his reelection campaign. He acted as the country’s ‘cheerleader’, insisting everything was good. This is all part of a pattern of his leadership through the pandemic. Trump has also shown continued reluctance to wear amask – whether it be for fear of ‘spooking’ themarkets or to come across as a ‘strongman’, much stronger than the virus – and hasmocked those who dowear amask, including his presidential election opponent, Joe Biden . Trump’s downplaying has been very influential across America, especially with his core supporters. It has fuelledthe anti-maskmovement . We saw interviews with older people in Florida playing tennis, people playing golf in Arizona, saying ‘it’sfine, President Trump said so’. They didn’t feel they had towear masks or take precautions. By sending that message of ‘stay calm’, it had the paradoxical effect of creating a pandemic complacency. Trump’s behaviour in these instances is all part of his own brand of Prozac Leadership. This concept symbolises a widespread social addiction to excessive positivity, which leaders use to enact power, influence and identity, and which can lead to dangerous consequences: mitigating against critical reflection, silencing dissent, eroding preparedness and damaging effectiveness when emergencies such as Covid-19 arise. Prozac leaders don’t concern themselves with the detailed challenges of policy implementation. For them, the overriding focus on staying positive and being highly motivated are what counts. Excessively positive messages from the top then filter down through managerial levels and subsequently into organisational structures, cultures and practices. Ifirst developed the concept in 2012 applying it, in particular, to examine the conditions that gave rise to the Global Financial Crash a few years earlier. That was a time when Trump was hosting The Apprentice, berating contestants in his plush Trump Tower office, and Boris Johnson was Mayor of 8 | Thefinal lesson of 1918, a simple one yet one most difficult to execute, is that… those in authority must retain the public’s trust. The way to do that is to distort nothing, to put the best face on nothing, to try to manipulate no-one. Lincoln said that first, and best. A leader must make whatever horror exists concrete. Only then will people be able to break it apart. John Barry, The Great Influenza: The Story Of The Deadliest Pandemic In History. ʼʼ ʻʻ
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