The Secretary of State fired, and then humiliated by the President's chief of staff. The National Security Adviser threatened with his own firing. A long-term law-enforcement official axed two days before he would have received a pension.

And a Twitter diatribe against a seasoned investigator who may very well hold his fate in his hands.

It's easy to look from afar at the nastiness of Donald Trump's administration and wonder why it is at such a fever pitch.

This is what it looks like when Mr Trump is in over his head, and there is no-one who can counsel him or calm him down.

The "grown-ups" in the administration, such as Rex Tillerson, the oil man turned diplomat, are quickly leaving. There are no advisers with the credibility that comes from serving in previous administrations.

Robert Swan Mueller III is the ultimate upper class Republican, part of the old-money elite who looked down on a younger Donald Trump. ( AP: Charles Dharapak )

Veteran political operatives, who might be able to be of assistance, are staying far away. Those who remain on staff never know when they will be bullied privately or criticised in public.

Incredibly, this could all get more chaotic before the dust settles.

On Sunday night, the New York Times reported Mr Trump now feels unshackled, and free to say whatever he likes.

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Earlier on Sunday, he turned his wrath on Robert Mueller, the former Federal Bureau of Investigations director who is leading the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

It was the first time he had mentioned Mr Mueller by name, and his Twitter tirade flummoxed legal experts who said Mr Trump was simply handing Mr Mueller ammunition.

The White House quickly issued a statement saying there was no discussion or consideration of firing Mr Mueller.

That may or may not be true. But the former FBI director is the person who Mr Trump fears most, and who fits the model of the kind of men he resented most during his turbulent days in the real estate game.

Robert Mueller, the longest serving FBI direction since J. Edgar Hoover, pictured with his successor James Comey. ( Reuters: Jason Reed )

Mueller the ultimate upper-class Republican

Mr Mueller is the ultimate establishment player, the ultimate upper-class Republican. Even his name sounds like what used to be called "white shoe" — Robert Swan Mueller III.

He was appointed to his FBI position by George W Bush, himself a scion of an old-school Republican family. His original 10-year term was extended for two years by Mr Bush's successor, Barack Obama, making him the longest-serving FBI director since J Edgar Hoover.

His resume gleams with sterling credentials — Princeton University and the University of Virginia. Service as an officer in the Marine Corps, where he was awarded a Bronze Star, among America's highest military honours, as well as a Purple Heart, given to soldiers wounded during action.

He has bounced between the private sector and public service, between San Francisco and Washington, Boston and New York.

Everything in his background is as much a contrast to Mr Trump's hustling, lying (by his own admission), adulterous (by his own admission) life.

Washington is one place where Donald Trump can't simply sweep others aside with bravado and a chequebook. ( Reuters: Lucas Jackson )

Old money elite looked down on Trump

When Mr Trump was rising in New York in the 1980s, the old money elite looked down on his arriviste persona.

Mr Trump, at the time, declared he didn't care, hanging his name from banners in full sight of city landmarks such as Grand Central Station, heading off to play golf at a country house before building his own golf courses.

And, as the Trump name appeared in more and more places, not just in New York, but across the United States and around the world, it seemed Mr Trump had triumphed over the old guard, which seemed to be less and less relevant as global billionaires became richer and richer.

But Washington is one place where a newcomer like Mr Trump can't simply sweep others aside with his bravado and a chequebook, no matter that he occupies the Oval Office.

The United States operates on the rule of law, and at the moment, there is no more a symbol of that than Mr Mueller.

He has taken his time in his work as special counsel. There has been a relatively small number of indictments and some modest plea bargains, involving former national security adviser Michael Flynn and a minor campaign official.

Mueller would have copies of everything

Lately, there have been reports the White House has reached out to Mr Mueller over the past few weeks, offering a Trump interview in exchange for Mr Mueller setting a date when the investigation will be over.

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But, Mr Mueller doesn't have to do anything. Mr Trump knows this.

He may ultimately lose his cool and order Attorney-General Jeff Sessions, another of his Twitter targets, to have Mr Mueller fired.

Yet, Mr Mueller undoubtedly has made copies of everything he has seen and heard, stashed in an undisclosed location.

Mr Trump might take Mr Mueller off the stage, only to find him on another one: all the venues across public podium, print and broadcasting where Mr Trump himself has been the star.

That tension between experienced and parvenu — political, ethnical, behavioural — is what this is all about. Keep your eyes on it.

Micheline Maynard, an American journalist and author, studied constitutional history as an undergraduate.