Charismatic leaders shape public sentiment but may weaken institutions by prioritizing personal appeal over trust in government. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mexican president disregarded stay-at-home guidelines. We assess the impact on social distancing using granular mobility and electoral data. Applying a dynamic difference-in-difference design and leveraging the timing of social distancing announcements and presidential support, we find increased mobility in pro-president areas, leading to 38% more COVID-19 cases and 21% more deaths. Our findings suggest the president's example, rather than partisan differences, drove these effects.