The difference between person and persona: Person is an individual and persona is a social role, a role you decide. Sometimes person is referred to as a mask, hence it is an image we deliberately present to others. We have a strong desire to be socially accepted by family, groups, voters, etc.
Some people who think they don't wear a mask, a persona, but think they are all transparent and just expose the unfiltered person at all times.
Some personas are thin, some are thick, but we all have a persona or a mask to present to the world. If the mask or the persona is so thick that it stands alone, we call it a legend. As a writer, an author's personas are carefully built to support the narrative.
Personas of public people are built on their true identity, the person, which an author does not need to do. But the politicians, as well as many other persons, make thicker and thicker masks. A personal narrative is a story about yourself, and great personal narrative essay topics include experiences you've had, in real life, people you know, your reactions to books or other writing, and many other options.
Branding is supported by strong personas and storytelling makes a person interesting. Storytelling adds depth and oxygen to the persona.
Putin has for decades built his persona with storytelling, crafting a strongman persona for him. For decades, images were placed in global media with Putin on horseback, Putin in the dojo judo-wrestling, Putin at the shooting range bare-chested, Putin fishing in Siberia and drinking beer with male friends, etc.
Trump promised to "make America great again" in the US election, but Putin used the same rhetoric and still uses it; i.e., to bring back the pride of the Soviet era and to restore the status and the old satellite states, starting with Crimea 2014 and continuing with Ukraine invasion 2022. The narrative is: "Russia was robbed" referring to the wall that fell 1989 and indolence declaration for instance by Ukraine 1991.
Personas need stories to make them complete, and Putin needs stories to make himself complete to become statues. To be a conqueror adds the stories and action to a bureaucrat nourished in the vacuum of the Cold War lost in transition.
A persona needs stories, like American presidents need wars to be selected, because the stories are how they go from a picture to an action figure. Action speaks louder than words.
The same goes for the former president of the United States, and his slogan "Make America Great Again - MAGA" which he copied by the way. He is in desperate need of storytelling to add action to his persona. He starts positioning himself as a martyr, and the latest investigation and seized documents from his house might just make his narrative even better.
Putin's and Trump's personas are assumed roles, masks, carefully created by themselves and their staff. Trump has also created a persona for himself as a business whiz. Their personas work because they tell stories. Stories are part of every community. They communicate culture, organize and transmit information, but remember just because they work or just because they are replicated, that doesn't make them true. They are still just a deliberately added on to the person, the identity who might need some flare of heroism, action, or in some cases even some height.