Trump’s Wishful Thinking Leadership will Backfire

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Abstract

Listening to Trump’s rosy assessments of the covid-19 pandemic, for example, that the U.S. economy could reopen by Easter, made me pull another book off my shelf. This time it was Voltaire’s 1759 satire Candide. Trump’s constant flow of wishful thinking echoes Voltaire’s character Professor Pangloss, who relentlessly proclaims optimistic platitudes mixed with a malign indifference to human suffering. Trump’s obvious resemblance had me wondering, what does it mean that a Pangloss is in the White House and how does it affect America’s ability to deal with a serious social and economic crisis?
Original languageEnglish
JournalElsevier Weekblad
Publication statusPublished - 8 Apr 2020

Keywords

  • U.S. elections
  • democracy
  • Trump

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