OPINION: Trump's address will be hailed as the long-awaited presidential pivot. Don't buy it.

Throughout the 2016 presidential race, we saw a repeated pattern. Whenever Donald Trump's erratic behavior and self-created controversies began to look like a serious threat to his campaign, his aides would schedule a prepared speech before a sober audience. Trump would dutifully read what had been written for him, usually looking bored, but sounding calm and tempered compared to his usual self. Journalists and pundits would then wonder if this was a new Trump, more presidential and reasonable than the one we had seen all along. Then within 24 hours, the old Trump would come roaring back, with one of his brutish rallies and some petty, vindictive tweets punching down at someone who has criticized him.