Trump's speech: Inaugural is time for new president to rise to the moment

Donald Trump will deliver his inaugural address to the nation on Friday, and it is his chance to show that he truly is presidential.

But which Trump will show up? Will it be the campaign Trump, full of bombast, or the man who would be president and will seek to unify a badly divided country?

Tradition says a new president takes the oath of office humbly, recognizing the enormous task ahead of him.

But Trump has not shown himself to be much of a follower of tradition. His style is to ignore tradition, and we expect him to do so again on Friday.

But we might be wrong. Once he has taken the oath, Trump could go a long way toward healing a split electorate by describing his vision for the nation, how he plans to govern, how he plans to be fair to all.

It will be a defining moment for the new president, one that pundits will spend hours dissecting. Will he show that he can be a true statesman?

Published in Editorials on January 19, 2017 9:24 AM