Contradictory public health messages from political leadership during the pandemic undermined unity and contributed to psychological distress.

“the other thing is that there was no unity of purpose the political leadership uh was completely contradictory about what it meant to be a good american and so on the one hand you had people knowledgeable people saying being a good american means wearing a mask and social distancing and eventually getting your vaccine right and then you had political leadership that was like you know what um no it actually means not wearing a mask and not social distancing and not getting a vaccine and so that the discordant contradictory messages from the upper upper echelons of our society i think made people crazy”