Quotations on U.S. President's Leadership
and Empathy During Times of Crisis and Grief
- “I can
think of many presidents whose finest hours included times of mourning. In these
and other times, the president binds us as a nation by acknowledging and giving
voice to our shared sense of loss, grief and pain and pointing the way to
better times ahead. [President Donald] Trump hasn’t shown himself capable of
this, in my view.” –David Greenberg (presidential scholar at Rutgers
University, USA)
- “It takes
a strong man to open his heart. But it also makes a very good and memorable
president [who exhibits compassion and empathy].” –Craig Shirley, a Republican
operative and President Reagan biographer
- “In
virtually all of F.D.R.’s [Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s] talks, he played a
pastoral role. He was always empathetic, and even when he was talking about
economic dislocation, unemployment, etc., he introduced spiritual notes.” –Susan
Dunn, a Williams College professor and author of several books on Roosevelt
- “He
[President George W. Bush] was really passionate about connecting with people
especially because he took this type of tragedy so personally. He used that
passion to express his remorse and sadness, but also to connect with people to
make them feel better. He would say it wasn’t about him. It was about the
presidency and he wanted to share the presidency with them.” –Eric Draper, the
White House photographer who accompanied President George W. Bush
- “In five
years of watching him, I’ve never seen [President Donald] Trump display a shred
of empathy or grace towards another human being. I’m not sure he has that
capacity, at least he’s never shown it in public.” –Jon Favrean, chief speechwriter of President Barack Obama
- “…His
[President Donald Trump’s] role should show hope and inspiration, but I think
it should show compassion. There are a lot of people that are experiencing a lot
of fear, so I do think it has a time and a place.” –David Mangan, one of the
survivors of coronavirus, and a pharmaceutical sales representative from Hot
Springs, Arkansas
--Quotations compiled by Jerome D'Costa
Source: "Amid a Rising Death Toll, Trump Leaves the Grievieving
to Others" by Peter Baker, The New York Times (April 30, 2020)