Donald J. Trump is continuing his full-on frontal assault on Robert Mueller. This strategy by the president is causing me to wonder: How will history judge these two men’s roles in the drama in which they both are starring?
I am believing Mueller will emerge as the shining light; Trump will be relegated to the role of villain . . . no matter how this all ends.
Mueller’s investigation into alleged collusion between the Trump 2016 presidential campaign and Russian operatives is entering a mine field full of ordnance about to explode. Trump knows the stakes and is engaging in some of the most ferocious innuendo imaginable to discredit the investigation the special counsel is conducting.
Meanwhile, Mueller is remaining quiet. He is saying nothing. I don’t even remember what his voice sounds like. He is proceeding with diligence, doggedness and dedication to the mission: finding the truth.
Trump’s response has been to act like a frothing animal. His Twitter tirade is non-stop and non-sensical. He is accusing Mueller of undefined “conflicts of interest” and wonders why Mueller is not questioning principals who want to be questioned.
One of Mueller’s star witnesses, former Trump campaign boss Paul Manafort, now is accused of lying to Mueller’s legal team after accepting a plea agreement to cooperate with the special counsel. Is he seeking a presidential pardon? Will the president be stupid enough to grant him one?
Trump and Mueller represent two extremes emanating from similar beginnings. Both men came from families of privilege. Both of them attended Ivy League schools. Both earned high-powered degrees. They came of age during the Vietnam War. One of them sought deferments to keep him from going to battle. The other man enlisted in the Marine Corps and served with valor in combat during that terrible conflict in Southeast Asia. The first man is Donald Trump; the second man is Robert Mueller.
Trump entered the private sector and parlayed his father’s healthy stake in his business into even greater wealth. Mueller returned from the battlefield and has devoted much of his life to public service, including a tour as director of the FBI.
How will history judge these men? It’s still early, but the picture is beginning to take shape.