You're describing ego, right? Americans have a very serious ego problem.
One of the greatest strengths a person can have is being comfortable being wrong. Unfortunately, we have a president in office who cannot under any circumstances admit a mistake. He's never wrong; he just misspoke. His facts aren't wrong, they're just taken out of context, etc etc etc. A lot of people feel this way. That if they ever admit a mistake then that's a sign of weakness, because only weak people are ever wrong.
No need to make this political. Relevant to the article, the issue of ego is a human problem, not unique to any particular country or culture. It does not matter if you're America, French, German, European, Chinese, Japanese, Asian, South African, Nigerian, Egyptian, African or such affiliation: people have difficulties admitting mistakes. Doesn't matter the color of your skin or the holy text you do or don't read, the problem persists. You're right that it is most harmful and most frequent in those with power, but it would be naive to pretend that this isn't in part perpetuated by the shame that public casts for such mistakes. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. If we're unwilling to admit this then I think it is impossible to prevent such atrocious leaders from rising to power. It is no coincidence that at the head of any authoritarian regime sits a leader who "can do no wrong." Because to admit that they did wrong means we must also admit we did wrong in siding with them, instead of being duped by them. It's the same problem, but it is not remotely unique to America. A pick-pocket will gladly point your attention to another, if only to keep your attention on them while they rob you blind. Don't let one failure make another.
One of the greatest strengths a person can have is being comfortable being wrong. Unfortunately, we have a president in office who cannot under any circumstances admit a mistake. He's never wrong; he just misspoke. His facts aren't wrong, they're just taken out of context, etc etc etc. A lot of people feel this way. That if they ever admit a mistake then that's a sign of weakness, because only weak people are ever wrong.