Many leaders have enjoyed what may be a temporary surge in popularity as frightened citizens rally around them in a crisis. Two notable exceptions have been the US president, Donald Trump, and his Brazilian counterpart, Jair Bolsonaro, whose ratings have declined sharply.
許多領導人在此次疫情中被驚慌的民眾包圍，從而享受到了暫時性的人氣飆升。而兩個值得注意的例外是美國總統川普和巴西總統雅伊爾·博索納羅，他們兩人的支持率在此期間急劇下降。
Both men, rightwing populists who frame their presidencies as revolts against the elites, including scientific authorities, have been highly skilled at influencing the media environment. But the coronavirus is a unique test. It spreads and kills regardless of how it is being framed online or in the media.
他們都是右翼民粹主義者，並將自己的總統執政框架定義為反精英主義，包括反科學權威。而且他們都非常善於引導輿論環境。但是新冠病毒是一項特殊的考驗，無論網絡和媒體如何污衊它，它只會一味地塑造框架並帶去殺戮。
It emphasises the importance of experts. Success depends on rallying the country together.
這就更強調了專家意見的重要性。戰勝疫情必須靠舉國之力。
「Leaders such as Trump deploy simple messages: insider versus outsider, us versus them,」 says Sanjoy Chakravorty, a professor at Temple University in the US, who studies the politics of information. 「And they are having an ideological crisis in how to manage the message here. This is a very complicated information sphere, which you can’t put into 『us and them』 boxes … because in this case everybody is the 『us』.」Rather than rewarding bravado, the moment appears to favour leaders who can be honest about the uncertainty inherent in fighting a virus, says Kathleen Bachynski, an assistant professor of public health at Muhlenberg College. 「If leaders are not willing or able to be honest about these limitations, there will be this loss of credibility – and it won’t be because they are wrong, it’s because information is changing.」
「像川普這樣的領導人只是把信息簡單地一分為二：國內的和國外的，我們和他們。"美國坦普爾大學的政治傳播學教授桑喬·查克拉沃蒂說："他們在如何管理疫情相關的信息方面存在著意識形態上的危機。這是一個非常複雜的信息傳播領域，不能簡單把信息放入；'我們'和'他們'的盒子裡……因為在這種情況下，每個人都是'我們'"。"此時，領導者不虛張聲勢，而是勇於承認在對抗疫情時遇到的諸多不確定性會獲得更多支持。"穆倫貝格學院公共衛生學助理教授凱薩琳•巴金斯基說，「如果領導者不願意或不能承認自己所掌握情況有限，就會失去可信度。相反地，民眾不會只因你說錯了就不再相信你，因為他們理解情況一直在變化。」
Those overseeing some of the more successful responses, such as Germany’s Angela Merkel or Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand, have been praised for their ability to project empathy and communicate complex ideas.
德國總理安格拉·默克爾和紐西蘭總理傑辛達•阿德恩在疫情期間作出了較為成功和有效的回應，他們表現出了（對民眾的）共情，也能夠向大眾傳達較為複雜的想法，因而受到了讚揚。
Asked to explain Germany’s metrics for deciding when to ease the lockdown, Merkel fluently explained the need to bring down the 「reproducibility number」 of the virus so that the health system can cope with its continued spread.
當被問及判定德國何時能夠放開封鎖措施的標準時，默克爾流暢地解釋了降低病毒「可繁殖數量」的必要性，這使醫療體系能夠更好地應對病毒的持續擴散。
In a press conference a few days earlier, Trump answered the same question by pointing to his head. 「The metrics right here,」 he said. 「That’s my metrics.」
幾天前的一次新聞發布會上，川普回答了同樣的問題。他指著自己的頭說：「我的標準在這裡，這就是我的衡量標準。」
The responses to the virus in both Brazil and the US are increasingly being led by state leaders, who are bypassing the federal government and coordinating directly with each other.
巴西和美國抗擊新冠病毒疫情的行動越來越多地由各州領導人領導，他們繞開聯邦政府，直接在各州之間相互協調。