Leadership in the Time of Coronavirus

Our Minnesota governor rocks. Plain and simple. This past Sunday morning, he held a press conference to announce that all Minnesota schools will close from March 18 to March 31. He spoke with solemnity and compassion. He described in the detail all the discussions that took place in the days leading up to this announcement, the many details ironed out to make it as effective as possible and to mitigate the impact as much as possible. And I am 100% sure that not once in all those discussions did he ponder how it might effect his reelection chances. This is what leadership looks like in a time of crisis.

So many people are writing about Donald Trump and how his flaws and failures are magnified by this crisis. He is a leader whose character (or lack of character) will ultimately cost many lives. But that wasn't obvious to many people until now. I remember a discussion with my husband about a month ago. I argued that the damage we all thought the Trump presidency would cause just hadn't happened. My husband listed off the terrible, short-sighted actions -- the unqualified sycophants filling many government positions and the vast number of vacancies in other important spots. All true, I argued. We know that, but what empirical evidence do we have, what facts, to demonstrate that it has caused serious problems? Now, unfortunately, the results are in.

In times of crisis, character is far more important than politics or policies. Is a leader willing to face hard truths and convince the people to face them as well? Is he willing to make the tough choices and take responsibility? Sadly, our president is fundamentally lacking in character. He's a narcissist who is able to view events only through the prism of how they affect him, whether the world respects him, and his chances for re-election. And he's a pathological liar. He just can't help himself. He's incapable of telling the truth.

In the past several days, he is attempting to look solemn and presidential, to ensure that everyone knows he has always taken this crisis with the utmost seriousness. The fact that his previous words are enshrined in news tapes and Twitter just doesn't penetrate his brain.  But, for the record, here's a short history of how seriously he has taken this crisis for the six weeks:

As the saying goes, hoisted by his own petard.