COVID-19 Stigma and Charismatic Social Relationship: A Legitimization Narrative of President Trump’s Status as a Charismatic Leader following a SARS-CoV-2 Infection Reported by the Portuguese Media

Sandro Serpa,Carlos Miguel Ferreira

doi:10.3390/soc11040130

Sandro Serpa, Carlos Miguel Ferreira

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/soc11040130

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Abstract

This concept paper aimed to understand how stigma, a concept usually associated with negative social relationships, in the context of a pandemic threat such as COVID-19 can, in some situations, structure a charismatic social relationship in a perceived positive association between stigma and a specific social characteristic. For this purpose, we used the example of the news selected and highlighted by several Portuguese media about the actions and messages developed by President Trump in the context of his infection with SARS-CoV-2 and the subsequent recovery process. These news reports gave visibility to a narrative that can be considered as reinforcing the legitimization of his condition as a charismatic leader in an electoral context marked by the pandemic threat. In conclusion, stigma associated with a pandemic health threat and generally linked to a negative social status can also reinforce admiration, trust, and belief in the charismatic leader by supporters and followers, as demonstrated with the plight of President Trump. Stigma can be a factor in social uplift in affirming an upward trajectory of social status and symbolic power for actors seen as ill, where stigma-motivated discrimination is experienced positively, unlike in most cases.

Highlights

This conceptual paper aimed to understand how stigma, a concept usually associated with a negative social relationship, in the context of a pandemic threat such as COVID-19 can, in some situations, structure a charismatic social relationship in an association between stigma and a socially positive dimension
A charismatic leader establishes a new leadership position, a new structure of social relationships, and a new cognitive definition of the action situation [4] (p. 5). In this relationship between stigma and charisma, and despite considering stigma as a mark or trait that devalues the individual [6], emphasizing the negative effects that it can cause on individuals, stigma can be seen as the mark of something extraordinary that, on the contrary, enhances the affirmation of the social status and symbolic power of the actors characterized as ill-healthy, in which labelling, stereotyping, cognitive separation, and discrimination [7] tend to transform significantly, reinforcing the admiration, trust, and belief in the chief by supporters and followers
You are not to blame for this, it’s China’s fault, China will pay” (Expresso, 7 October 2020, https://expresso.pt/coronavirus/2020-10-07-Covid. -Trump-diz-que-tratamento-que-recebeu-e-uma-cura-promete-oferece-lo-de-borlaafirma-se-abencoado-por-Deus-e-ataca-a-China, accessed on 17 October 2021). This narrative highlighted a set of actions and messages developed by President Trump, which can be considered as reinforcing the legitimization of his charismatic leader status in an electoral context marked by the pandemic threat

Summary

Introduction

This conceptual paper aimed to understand how stigma, a concept usually associated with a negative social relationship, in the context of a pandemic threat such as COVID-19 can, in some situations, structure a charismatic social relationship in an association between stigma and a socially positive dimension For this purpose, the authors analyzed selected news stories highlighted by several Portuguese media about the actions and messages developed by President Trump in the context of his infection with SARS-CoV-2 and the subsequent recovery process. The authors analyzed selected news stories highlighted by several Portuguese media about the actions and messages developed by President Trump in the context of his infection with SARS-CoV-2 and the subsequent recovery process These news items give visibility to a narrative that can be considered as reinforcing the legitimization of his condition as supreme leader in an electoral context marked by the pandemic threat [1]. In this relationship between stigma and charisma, and despite considering stigma as a mark or trait that devalues the individual [6], emphasizing the negative effects that it can cause on individuals, stigma can be seen as the mark of something extraordinary that, on the contrary, enhances the affirmation of the social status and symbolic power of the actors characterized as ill-healthy (for example, COVID-19), in which labelling, stereotyping, cognitive separation, and discrimination [7] tend to transform significantly, reinforcing the admiration, trust, and belief in the chief by supporters and followers

The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Stigmatization of the “Other”

COVID-19 and the Processes of Stigmatization

Stigma and Charismatic Domination

Conclusions