The trade standoff between the United States and India highlights a clash between leaders who seek dominance and those who value autonomy. In political psychology, operational codes are the belief systems that guide leaders’ decisions. When US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the trade deal stalled because Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not call President Donald Trump, it revealed more about Trump’s approach to power than about India’s diplomacy. Blaming a missed phone call oversimplifies the situation and shows a mindset where personal dominance and public validation matter more than institutional logic. This fits leadership models like transactional versus transformational styles. Transactional leaders, such as Trump, focus on quick wins and visible results, prioritising domination over collaboration.

More research on Trump’s leadership helps explain this pattern. Stanley Renshon, a scholar of presidential psychology studies, says Trump’s actions are driven by a need for dominance, not compromise. For Trump, negotiation is about showing superiority, not finding common ground. Some analysts call this “marketing narcissism," where decisions are shaped by the need for validation, attention, and symbolic wins. Trump dislikes ambiguity and sees processes without personal closure as........

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