Just think about the exceptionally gifted "10x" engineers we all meet from time to time. There are people equally gifted in charisma and manipulation, they can predict what people are feeling and steer them where they want them with high success rates. This is what I think of whenever I see a politician on video or meet one in person.
He could talk to a family, leave them smitten and hopeful, then whisper "Kill them" to the guard, on his way out.