cognitive characteristic and crisis behaviour: an analysis of donald trump’s leadership style and operational code in the time of crisis

Crisis conditions create ambiguous situations where individuals rely more on their understanding and previous experiences. in the context of politics, depending on a leader’s characteristics, his perceptions may influence and override other agents in policy-making during the crisis time. many studies claim that leaders’ perceptions may change as they confront crisis, as they learn from critical situations. based on empirical data regarding president donald trump’s operational beliefs and leadership characteristics, this paper examines the theoretical basis for the ways in which core beliefs resist change and learning. to answer the main question, the operational code of president trump had been analyzed in three separate phases: the immediate pre-presidential phase, his three years in office prior to covid-19 breakout, his last nine months in office during the crises. the results of this research may address several questions regarding the trump political leadership and belief system by focusing on changes in the cognitive construct of the president.