Second, Hogan gives specifics about what he has done (e.g., call up the National Guard, loosen medial licensing requirements) and what he is trying to achieve (e.g., add 6,000 hospital beds to the existing 8,000 in his state). He does not over-promise (It’s all under control!).

Third, he explains the logic behind what he is doing. Social distancing is meant to prevent the medical system from becoming overloaded, Hogan says. That means social distancing has to be ramped up (e.g., new regulations shutting movie theaters and nonessential stores) as he moves to expand the capacity of his state’s health system. What’s at stake? Hundreds of thousands of lives of Americans.

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Fourth, he does not let President Trump off the hook, but he notes improvement (i.e., on Monday for the first time Trump sounded like he understood the gravity of the situation). “I think the message today was much more on message," Hogan says. “I was very pleased with the change in tone.” Trump’s previous statements that “it really wasn’t that big of a deal,” “everything was okay” and “nobody should worry,” Hogan says, were “the wrong message.” He notes that for two weeks he and a few other governors sounded like Trump does only now. However, he goes out of the way to explain there is no use right now in assigning blame. He wants to focus on how the federal government is working more cooperatively with states (e.g., providing medical supplies from the federal stockpile). “Federal, state and local officials are going to have to take drastic actions right now to stop the spread of the disease,” he says.

Fifth, he acknowledges that the new rules are “scary” but assures residents that they are absolutely necessary. If you are imposing burdens on ordinary Americans, they better feel like their sacrifice is for a very important cause. The implicit message is: Being deprived of movie theaters and restaurant is a small price to pay for the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans.

Sixth, Hogan talks about “we” — i.e. fellow governors, state and federal governments — both to assure people in Maryland they are not alone and to take his own ego out of the equation. You do not hear Hogan giving himself a score of 10 out of 10. He understands this is not all about him.

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Leadership requires qualities Trump simply does not possess such as the ability to master and be informed by facts. Trump is incapable of showing restraint, humility, empathy and calm. When we look for our next president and the ones after that it would be a good idea to look for a candidate who has those essential traits. We are learning what happens when a president lacks them.