Did charisma “Trump” narcissism in 2016? Leader narcissism, attributed charisma, value congruence and voter choice

Abstract Grandiose narcissism has been associated with negative outcomes and research suggests its potential to predict positive and negative leadership behaviors. We examined perceived leader narcissism, attributed charisma, and voter choice in the context of the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Narcissism was found to be negatively related to attributions of charisma and voter choice, and had an indirect effect on voter choice through attributed charisma. Value congruence moderated the relationship between attributed charisma and voter choice. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the mixed results in earlier research regarding the relationship between perceived leader narcissism and attributed charisma, and highlights attributed charisma as an intervening factor in understanding leader selection.