Past behaviour being a good indicator of future actions, many Americans legitimately fear that the next four years of Donald Trump's presidency will be nasty, confrontational and divisive.
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They'll certainly be fascinating in political terms, for Mr Trump's vision for the United States is as broad and expansive as it is radical: he wants to rebuild the nation's middle class, boost blue-collar jobs, reduce taxes and roll back big government.
His foreign policy agenda is equally radical. As well as promising to overturn the Iran nuclear deal, Mr Trump wants to confront China over trade and island-building in the South China Sea, get America's allies to pay more towards meeting the cost of the security umbrella provided them by US taxpayers, and to forge closer relations with Russia.
After his against-the-odds triumph in November's presidential election, no one is doubting Mr Trump's determination or willingness to push domestic and foreign political boundaries and make good on his core promises. In theory, he is extraordinary well-equipped to deliver. He's the closest thing to a true independent that US politics has thrown up since Teddy Roosevelt's emergence in the White House more than a century ago. He is beholden neither to the Republican Party nor to corporate America, and he has a proven reputation as a deal-maker – a quality every successful US president has had to a greater degree or other.
For every Trump action, an equal and opposite reaction is likely, however. He is distrusted by most of the Republican leadership, his support base in Congress is modest, and the machinery of government, including the bureaucracy, is likely to resist any attempt at radical change or insurgency.
The checks and balances America's founding fathers wrote into the constitution have been highly effective (perhaps too effective at times) in limiting executive excess. When Mr Trump discovers this in the months and years ahead, his lack of political experience – which has been such an important part of his electoral appeal – will become a liability.
For a man used to running his own global business empire, Mr Trump may figure that rebuilding America's manufacturing base will be a relatively straightforward task. And, in fact, he's already bullied and hectored Carrier, Ford and General Motors into keeping jobs back in the US. However, a resurrection of America's post-war manufacturing might is unlikely given the automation that's hollowing out factories in the US and elsewhere. And though the protectionist trade polices he's promised will drive up employment in the short term, their overall impact in the longer term will be negative.
Almost uniquely for an incoming president, Mr Trump has incited fierce domestic opposition. His abrasive personality, his hypersensitivity and the fact that Hillary Clinton beat him in the popular vote by nearly three million ballots makes him unworthy and unacceptable in the eyes of many Americans. At this point, however, they need to give Mr Trump the chance to prove his bona fides.
