They are the sons of wealth, brought up in families accustomed to power. They were raised to show and demand respect, and they were raised to lead.They rose to positions of enormous authority, the president of the United States and the special counsel chosen to investigate him. They dress more formally than most of those around them; both sport meticulously coiffed hair. They have won unusual loyalty from those who believe in them. They attended elite all-male private schools, were accomplished high school athletes and went on to Ivy League colleges. As young men, each was deeply affected by the death of a man he admired greatly.Yet Robert Swan Mueller III and Donald John Trump, born 22 months apart in New York City, also can seem to come from different planets. One is courtly and crisp, the other blustery and brash. One turned away from the path to greater wealth while the other spent half a century exploring every possible avenue to add to his assets.At pivotal points in their lives, they made sharply divergent choices — as students, as draft-age men facing the dilemma of the Vietnam War, as ambitious alpha males deciding where to focus their energies.Read more: Top Trump campaign official pleads guilty to conspiracy, lying to FBI as Russia probe escalatesFormer workers at Russian ‘troll factory’ say U.S. charges are well-foundedSpecial counsel charges Russian troll farm, 13 individuals over meddling to help Donald Trump’s 2016 campaignNow, as they move toward an almost inevitable confrontation that could end in anything from deeper political discord to a fatal blow to this presidency, Trump, 71, and Mueller, 73, are behaving much as they have throughout their lives: As the president fumes about a “witch hunt” and takes his frustrations to his supporters, the special counsel remains publicly mute, speaking through inquiries and indictments.The months flip by and the showdown looms: Mueller and Trump, the war hero and the dra ...
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