Trump, Modi, Putin and their ‘alpha male’ branding!

Image Source - Various (1, 2, 3) - Digitally modified by the author

The word ‘Alpha male’ means “the most successful and powerful male in any group” as per Cambridge Dictionary. The term is originated from the animal kingdom where some animals have ranked order groups. The pack of wolves have one 'alpha male' in the top rank which dominates the others. The position is socially desirable and earns power, respect. The position is often fought for. In human society, this position is not achieved by bloodshed. It is purely achieved by social dominance, which comes from the number of followers and their urge to consider the leader as the 'role model' who will dominate upon them. Social dominance form of human leadership is the ancient form of leadership. An 'alpha male' is often narcissist and unpopular among opponents. An 'alpha male' sometimes brings high risks to the society due to his appetite for dominance. Is it a personality trait? Surely yes. But in today’s world, personality is often crafted. Social media, visuals are the optimal methods to create any kind of image of a person. The creation and maintenance of a leader’s personality also needs synchronized branding effort to capture the desired effects. Let us explore some instances when popular leaders go for ‘alpha male’ branding.

Donald Trump as Rocky Balboa

Image Source - Donal Trump's tweet

US president Donald Trump is controversy’s favorite child. He loves chaos and his tweets are similar to volcanic eruption. Trump is the undoubtedly the most aggressive politician in the United States today. Sometimes he threatens to totally destroy North Korea in his UN speech and sometimes he remains busy with verbal duels with opponents. Very happening character! Just a few days ago, Trump shared an edited photo of himself as the fictional boxer Rocky Balboa through his tweet and twitter exploded. The image superimposes Trump’s head on Stallone’s body and it is derived from a 1982 ‘Rocky’ franchisee movie poster. Trump did not post any caption while posting the photo. Trump’s critics started to criticize his photoshop fantasy but Trump came on news globally. It was his rhetoric but definitely alpha male. Remember Trump is 73 years old.

Narendra Modi in ‘Man vs Wild’

Image Source – Modi in ‘Man vs Wild’ of Discovery channel

India’s prime minster Narendra Modi came to power for the first time in 2014 and was re-elected in 2019 election. He infamously declared that he had “56 inches chest”. Early this year, Modi took part in a special episode of ‘Man vs Wild’. It is a survival television series hosted by Bear Grylls on the Discovery Channel. The episode could not be aired before election in India and was aired later on. Modi spoke in Hindi to reach his target audience although it was an international show. The show depicted Modi roaming in the jungle and doing daring activities with high risk. A well thought out synchronized effort to build up ‘alpha male’ image of Modi!

Putin – the ultimate ‘alpha’

Image Source Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin rides a horse during his vacation outside the town of Kyzyl in Southern Siberia on August 3, 2009

Vladimir Putin is the president of Russia since 2012. He is most probably the biggest ‘alpha’ leader nowadays. He likes headlines. He was famously photograph bare-chested on horseback way back in 2009. In 2017, he was again photographed bare-chested in the extreme cold weather of Siberia’s mountains. He was accompanied by government officials and the photos were released by the Kremlin. The photos found place in his presidential website too. Putin said “When I am on vacation I see no need to hide behind the bush”. Putin’s bare chested photos of fishing, taking dip in frigid cold water, horse riding are widely published and talked about. Putin, aged 67 now, gradually made his extreme image of manliness. He keeps on giving the signal that he is not interested to give up power. The ultimate ‘alpha male’!