To get a sense of just how much damage Donald Trump is doing each day, by making the daily White House briefings on the coronavirus pandemic mostly about himself, and distracting attention from vital updates on the public health emergency delivered by scientists, it helps to look at how very differently this is handled in other democracies.

Question: What metrics will you use to make that decision?



Trump while pointing to his head: The metrics right here. That’s my metrics. pic.twitter.com/SIbO5N6Bqx — Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) April 10, 2020

In Greece, for example, the nation is briefed at 6 p.m. each evening by Dr. Sotirios Tsiodras, an unassuming professor of medicine who studied infectious diseases at Harvard and now leads the Greek government’s coronavirus task force. Tsiodras, often reading from his notes, has been credited with helping to rally the nation to quickly accept a national lockdown that has, so far, been more successful than most, largely by presenting the science in a calm, rational voice of authority. On the rare occasions when his level-headed facade has cracked — like a moment last month when he appealed to Greeks to protect their elderly relatives by staying at home — the impact has been all the more powerful.

Greek chief epidemiologist, on being asked “why make a fuss over old and sick people”, broke down.



“They’re our mothers and fathers; grandmothers and grandads. This is my answer: We honour and respect everyone - them especially. Without them we have no identity; we don’t exist.” pic.twitter.com/OhZm0BPVyW — Alex Andreou (@sturdyAlex) March 22, 2020

On Friday, Tsiodras announced that there were 56 new cases of Covid-19 in Greece, and four more deaths, bringing the total number of cases to 2,011, with 90 fatalities. He ended his opening remarks by calling for solidarity with the country’s Roma minority. “There is no room for discrimination, for hatred, for fear, for division, for divisions in our society or in the rest of the world’s societies,” Tsiodras said. “What we need to overcome, what will help us overcome this pandemic, is above all unity and solidarity between us.”

Greece’s prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has used Twitter not to attack regional officials or complain about the lockdown’s impact on the economy, but to share a video showing how successful the drive to empty the nation’s streets has been.

In other words, Greeks live in something like the parallel universe Americans could inhabit if Trump would refrain from commenting on subjects he knows nothing about and let Dr. Anthony Fauci deliver calm, fact-based updates on the fight against virus, and occasional empathetic comments on the health disparities it has revealed in American society.

Dr. Anthony Fauci: "When all this is over, and as we've said, it will end. We will get over Coronavirus, but there will still be health disparities, which we really do need to address in the African American community."



Full video here: https://t.co/3w9Yv5OBxU pic.twitter.com/jWLD9nkoCP — CSPAN (@cspan) April 7, 2020

In France, President Emmanuel Macron is nowhere to be seen when the daily update on the spread of Covid-19 is delivered on live television by Dr. Jérôme Salomon, an epidemiologist who is the chief medical advisor to the nation’s department of health. Salomon also takes questions from the press, because, according to L’Obs, a French news magazine, Macron wanted the public to be informed by a trusted expert, not a politician.

#Coronavirus #COVID19 | Vos questions

Quand la production industrielle de tests sérologiques pourra-t-elle commencer en France ?

? la production a commencé

? Notre responsabilité est d’assurer leur fiabilité.



? Revoir les points de situation : https://t.co/odeOOiexPR pic.twitter.com/2SXu3UGsXc — Ministère des Solidarités et de la Santé (@MinSoliSante) April 10, 2020

Although Macron did spend Thursday in Marseille, meeting with Prof. Didier Raoult, a virologist researching the potential use of the drug hydroxychloroquine for Covid-19 patients, the French president, unlike Trump, has declined to endorse the untested treatment as a miracle cure.

Les images d'Emmanuel Macron avec les équipes du Pr Didier Raoult à Marseille pic.twitter.com/uNgUHWOtDy — BFMTV (@BFMTV) April 9, 2020

Germans also get their daily updates on the battle to slow the spread of the virus from a medical expert, Lothar Wieler, the head of the Robert Koch Institute, the federal agency responsible for disease control.

In Ireland, updates are delivered daily by Dr. Tony Holohan, the country’s chief medical officer, despite the fact that its current leader, Leo Varadkar, is also a doctor.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan reports 25 more deaths from Covid-19 and 480 new confirmed cases | | Follow live updates: https://t.co/rBeqjRImf4 pic.twitter.com/zE3KIltvoT — RTÉ News (@rtenews) April 10, 2020

Holohan, like Tsiodras and Fauci, has become a local celebrity since the start of the pandemic because he is seen as a man of integrity who speaks in plain language. Canadians get bilingual updates on the virus from news conferences led by an elected politician, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, but she largely defers to the medical experts, the chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, and her deputy, Dr. Howard Njoo.

Rather than attacking his political opponents or whining about criticism from the press, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has dedicated his media appearances to making the case to the public for the necessary measures recommended by the scientists.

Prime Minister Trudeau warned that smaller outbreaks could be the "new normal" for Canadians until a vaccine is developed for COVID-19. Watch more here: https://t.co/FWDEyCnScw pic.twitter.com/xigrnOG4Ai — CTV News (@CTVNews) April 9, 2020

At a provincial level in Canada, British Columbia’s daily briefings are led by Dr. Bonnie Henry, a public official modest enough to admit that part of the region’s success so far has been down to “luck.”

Why is B.C. doing a better job of flattening the #COVID19 curve compared to Ontario and Quebec? Luck, preparation and the timing of the province’s later spring break are factors, says Dr. Bonnie Henry. pic.twitter.com/jrRpKR0rI9 — CBC British Columbia (@cbcnewsbc) April 7, 2020

In Spain, ministers deliver the updates, but alongside a medical expert, Dr. Fernando Simón, the director of Spain’s health emergency center, who was himself infected with the virus in March. The doctor, who has achieved a kind of cult status, recently rejoined the briefings by video link from quarantine.

? VÍDEO | Fernando Simón: “Progresivamente se irán levantando las medidas de precaución. Será la parte más difícil porque será más complicado que la gente mantenga la tensión, tendremos que ser mucho más conscientes de nuestros actos para evitar un repunte en la epidemia” pic.twitter.com/MS8CIOEuRu — Cadena SER (@La_SER) April 8, 2020

Even in countries where politicians take the lead in providing updates, like Austria and Japan, officials have, unlike Trump, modeled good public behavior by observing social distancing and wearing masks.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, an anti-immigrant populist tycoon, has superficial similarities to Trump, but embraced the science fully enough to declare a state of emergency before the country’s first Covid-19 death took place. Babiš allows the coronavirus press conferences to be handled by his health minister and, having made masks mandatory in public last month, wears one himself when addressing the nation.

Jsou Velikonoce a mám n?co na srdci. Ve 20.05 na ?eské televizi, Nov?, Prim? a Radiožurnálu. pic.twitter.com/0d8GPfzmd6 — Andrej Babiš (@AndrejBabis) April 9, 2020

The daily briefings in Britain, which are led by a senior politician, have been criticized by some observers as overly political — even Trumpian “defensive look-how-well-we’re-doing drivel.” At one news conference before he became infected with Covid-19, Prime Minister Boris Johnson even shared the Trump-like boast that he had continued to shake hands, even while visiting a hospital treating coronavirus patients.

"I was at a hospital the other night where I think there were actually a few coronavirus patients and I shook hands with everyone."



Boris Johnson says he has not refused to shake hands with people during the #COVID19 outbreak.



More on this story here: https://t.co/6N1ZLNKpvT pic.twitter.com/yV1qkQkDkh — SkyNews (@SkyNews) March 3, 2020

Yet at each briefing in London, the senior elected official leading it has been flanked by two medical experts who have been free to field questions from journalists after the politician’s opening remarks.

When asked by @Peston what can the UK learn from Germany, the Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty said: 'We all know Germany got ahead in terms of its ability to do testing for the virus and there's a lot to learn from that'



More here: https://t.co/QtaSVIv1kv pic.twitter.com/jpRrBy0teF — ITV News (@itvnews) April 7, 2020

Even two of the planet’s most Trump-like leaders, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, have allowed the experts to speak, mostly unimpeded. Erdogan was criticized for initially downplaying the threat posed by the virus, but permits his health minister, Dr. Fahrettin Koca, to deliver science-based, daily updates on the effort to combat its spread.

A?I ÇALI?MALARI ?Ç?N öncelikle ba?ar?lmas? gereken, virüsün izole edilmesiydi. ?ki bilim adam?m?z bunu ba?arm?? durumdalar. Erciyes Üniversitesi’nden Prof. Dr. AYKUT ÖZDARENDEL? Hocam?z?, Ankara Üniversitesi’nden Prof. Dr. AYKUT ÖZKUL Hocam?z? halk?m?z ad?na kutluyorum. pic.twitter.com/PGYCsVosxw — Dr. Fahrettin Koca (@drfahrettinkoca) April 8, 2020

Bolsonaro, who has made a show of flaunting social distancing guidelines, and threatened to fire his health minister, Dr. Luiz Henrique Mandetta for supporting it, still lets the doctor lead the daily updates for the public.

Presidente @jairbolsonaro pára para comer numa padaria de Brasília. pic.twitter.com/uVcRWqyZDj — Eduardo Bolsonaro?? (@BolsonaroSP) April 9, 2020

On Thursday, Mandetta warned the public to beware of “false prophets,” promising cures, and mocked anti-vaxxers, claiming that as soon as a vaccine is developed for Covid-19, they will be the first to take it.

O ministro da Saúde, Luiz Henrique Mandetta, fez questão de se posicionar totalmente ao lado da ciência e pediu que a população tome cuidado com “falsos profetas”. Mandetta ironizou grupos antivacina. “Na hora em que houver uma vacina para coronavírus, serão os primeiros a tomar” pic.twitter.com/CbiIZXZGX8 — UOL Notícias (@UOLNoticias) April 9, 2020