What COVID-19 showed us about populism, democracy, and performance: the case of the United States

Crises such as pandemics are times when people look to their elected and professional public service leaders for action. COVID-19 revealed United States President Trump’s inability to manage governance processes, as evidenced by a series of failures in decision-making, communication, collaboration, and coordination. These failures also reflected the costs of a populist style of governing. Trump’s distrust of, and delayed coordination with, professional public service leaders were major reasons for difficulties in managing the pandemic response. This chapter examines leadership qualities needed to successfully manage crises and compares those qualities to leadership actions during the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. The case reveals how the lack of presidential leadership left the US in a position of failure, characterized by high case rates, deaths, and an ongoing inability to establish a basic national consensus and collaboration with professional practitioners on how to effectively respond to the pandemic.