He did not address a live crowd nor Congress. He spoke directly to Americans, creating a sense of intimacy: “I know that when you understand what we in Washington have been about, I shall continue to have your cooperation as fully as I have had your sympathy and help during the past week,” he said. He proceeded to explain the actions he had taken and then posed and answered questions voters might have. (“Why won’t the banks all open at once?” “What if my bank doesn’t open?”) He made clear everyone’s cooperation was necessary when the banks reopened after his “bank holiday.”

“The success of our whole great national program depends, of course, upon the cooperation of the public — on its intelligent support and use of a reliable system,” Roosevelt said. He concluded:

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After all, there is an element in the readjustment of our financial system more important than currency, more important than gold, and that is the confidence of the people. Confidence and courage are the essentials of success in carrying out our plan. You people must have faith; you must not be stampeded by rumors or guesses. Let us unite in banishing fear. We have provided the machinery to restore our financial system; it is up to you to support and make it work. It is your problem no less than it is mine. Together we cannot fail.

The ability to lay out facts, explain the government’s response, enlist public cooperation and instill confidence came at a moment of deep national crisis essential to stabilizing a financial system on the brink of total collapse. Roosevelt did not offer unjustified or unrealistic hopes, but a sense of calm knowing a competent leader was acting with the public’s interest in mind. His purpose in this and other speeches was not to undo the Great Depression, but to keep matters from getting worse and preserve the social fabric.

In moments of national crisis — wars, natural disasters, depressions — great leaders understand the challenge is to inform and enlist the public so that individual fear, panic and unbridled self-interest do not make us collectively worse off.

Former vice president Joe Biden understands this. He increases his own stature when he deploys a conversational style devoid of high drama. In sober and factual remarks, he seeks to reassure and summon us to act for the common good. It is for that reason that his speeches were so effective on March 12 and again on Tuesday night following another night of victories in the Democratic presidential primaries.

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When Biden does not yell or wander off into family anecdotes, he is able to convey both the depth of his understanding about the policy issues at hand and his emotional maturity — that is, his empathy, his humility and his rationality.

The contrast with President Trump could not be more striking. Trump — an empty shell of a man in constant need of re-affirmation — uses audiences to assuage his own ego; to rewrite (i.e., lie about) his past failures; to present himself as the most knowledgeable on any subject; and to supercharge his and his base’s sense of victimhood. He is not capable of giving comfort, imparting valuable information or empowering Americans. It is always all about him — his ego, his reputation, his insatiable need for praise. The result is to make Americans more anxious and less trusting.

Deprived of a cultist crowd to whoop and cheer and chant, Trump appears at these briefings as a pathetic figure desperate to claim success and to conceal his total ignorance. His own performance is so deficient that he must constantly resort to lying about the extent of the problem and his own response, thereby further eroding the public’s confidence in what he is saying. He is a net negative when it comes to crisis management.

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One pines for Trump to remain muzzled and out of sight. Let public health experts such as National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci, the governors, the mayors and other competent people talk to the public. Please.