On 20 July 2017, Donald John Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States. He takes office at the end of the most acrimonious campaigns in recent history, and with Americans deeply divided, as witnessed by the protests that erupted across the country (and the world) the next day.

An inaugural address is an opportunity to bring the country together, to heal the wounds that were opened during the election campaign. For Donald Trump, it was a missed opportunity.

Trump’s address was dark and aggressive. He talked about healing and coming together, but his tone and the content of his speech were more confrontational than conciliatory. Given the bitterness of the campaign, this did not come as a complete surprise. Yet, Trump’s speech stands in stark contrast to the inaugural addresses delivered by his predecessors.

When Abraham Lincoln gave his second inaugural address in 1865, just months before the end of…