This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Facing the prospect of a bloody civil war, Abraham Lincoln used his first inaugural to address Southern states in a bid to preserve the Union. "We are not enemies, but friends," he said, appealing to "the better angels of our nature."

In the depths of the Great Depression, President Franklin Roosevelt spoke of a nation that is strong, united and resilient, reassuring the population that "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." In Donald Trump's world, it seems, the only thing we have to fear is everything.

President Trump did not appeal to our "better angels." Instead, the erstwhile businessman set the tone for his administration with the same rhetoric that carried him to office, playing to the baser American emotions of fear, resentment, isolationism and anger.

The 2016 election was a bruising affair, mean and petty. Protesters clashed with police and Trump supporters in the streets and everywhere there seems to be mistrust and the new president enters office with the lowest level of public support on record.

Rather than seeking to "bind up the nation's wounds" as Lincoln did in his second inaugural, Trump's first message to a country in turmoil comes off more like an angry dad.

"This American carnage stops right here and stops right now," Trump declared.

And don't make him turn this car around. Because he'll do it.

Trump's is a bleak view of a nation that is inconsistent with the country's spirit, as well as reality.

Instead of a nation that is strong, he sees a country teetering on the verge of economic collapse with "rusted-out factories scattered like tombstones."

Rather than a nation that is safe — statistically safer than it has been since the 1990s — Trump sees crime-ravaged neighborhoods terrorized by street gangs and the threat of a flood of illegal immigrants pouring across the borders. Illegal immigration, too, is at the lowest point in decades.

Despite continuous economic growth and the lowest unemployment since 2008, the new president plays to the fears of the American workers. "We must protect our borders," he said, "from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies and destroying our jobs."

Trump inherited the office that is known far and wide as leader of the free world and ushers in an era of self-interest, isolationism and economic protectionism — "From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land. From this day forward, it's going to be only America first, America first."

The phrase "Make America First Again" was emblazoned on signs waved at the ceremony and "America First" is featured prominently on the redesigned White House website that launched at noon. Trump, as was shown during the campaign and again on Friday, seems to only be able to exist in opposition to something else, whether it's a corrupt Washington establishment or radical Islamic terrorists or foreign predators or a criminal menace.

That's not the model of a statesman. That wasn't the approach of Lincoln or Roosevelt. It wasn't the tone George Washington sought when he became the leader of the infant nation.

It wasn't the route John F. Kennedy took when "the torch was passed to a new generation of Americans." And it was a stark contrast from his predecessor, who said in 2009 that "On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord."

Trump's is a bunker mentality, driven by fear, rage and self-preservation. There is no aspirational vision here. And without a vision, how will this new president lead?