The president was ostensibly promoting a new trade deal but for 90 minutes he came across as a madcap carnival barker

It may have been the world’s worst advertisement for teetotalism.

On Monday Donald Trump careered all over the place, displaying no discernible inhibitions, his speech a little slurry at times, blurting out words that most people would regret in the morning as he held his second wild ride with the media in less than a week.

The US president was ostensibly making an announcement about a new trade deal with the Canada and Mexico, but was also questioned about Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s youthful drinking habits.

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Trump was quick to remind the gathering in the White House Rose Garden that he has never touched a drop. “I’m just saying, I’m not a drinker,” he said, arms outstretched. “I can honestly say I never had a beer in my life, OK? It’s one of my only good traits.

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“I don’t drink. Whenever they’re looking for something good, I said never had a glass of alcohol. I’ve never had alcohol. You know, for whatever reason. Can you imagine if I had, what a mess I’d be? I’d be the world’s worst.”

It was one of Trump’s rare flashes of self-knowledge in a carnival barker performance that is becoming more and more familiar with each outing in front of the media.

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Wearing dark suit, white shirt and red tie, Trump played his usual verbal jazz for 90 minutes, basking in the attention and the beautiful autumn sunshine. But it did mean that the commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, who is 80, was forced to stand on the podium for an hour and a half.

It is not unknown for men who mistreat women to blame their misconduct on alcohol. Trump does not have that excuse, which may have made it all the more chilling, when he immediately belittled a woman reporter.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Cecilia Vega of ABC News asks a question. Trump said of the reporter as he called on her: ‘I know you’re not thinking. You never do.’ Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA

The first question went to Cecilia Vega of ABC News. The president wisecracked: “She’s shocked that I picked her. Like, in a state of shock.”

Vega replied: “I’m not, thank you, Mr President.”

Trump apparently misheard and retorted: “That’s OK, I know you’re not thinking. You never do.”

There were some groans and noises of dissent among the press corps. Vega asked: “I’m sorry?”

Trump said only: “No, go ahead, go ahead.”

Vega asked a question about Kavanaugh. Trump interrupted: “What does that have to do with trade? I don’t mind answering the question, but I’d like to do the trade questions, too.” She followed up with a trade question.

It is not that Trump is never rude to journalists who are white or male or both. But he frequently appears to go after women or minorities with a particular relish, even at a time when the entire nation is caught up in a wrenching debate over #MeToo and alleged sexual abuse.

When CNN’s Kaitlan Collins tried to push Trump on whether he would consider it disqualifying for supreme court pick Kavanaugh to take up his seat on America’s top bench if he lied to Congress under oath, he again turned nasty: “You’ve really had enough. Hey! You’ve had enough.”

Somewhere in a Republican nerve centre, strategists were probably striking out several more seats that hinge on the support of suburban women. The display followed a news conference in New York last week where the president repeatedly interrupted female questioners.

Having witnessed Kavanaugh’s furious tirade to the Senate judiciary committee and Senator Lindsey Graham’s no-holds-barred diatribe, Trump is perhaps anxious to keep his crown as the white man’s ranter-in-chief.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Donald Trump delivered a typically uninhibited performance. Photograph: Rex/Shutterstock

He complained bitterly that what Kavanaugh and his family had endured was not fair. “I think it’s fair to do it to me,” he said, as if trying to be generous. “I think, for me, it’s like a part of my job description. To handle this crap.”

Later, NBC’s Peter Alexander followed up with a question probably never before asked at the White House: what did the president of the United States mean by “this crap”?

He answered: “Oh, I think the press has treated me unbelievably unfairly. In fact, when I won I said, the good thing is now the press finally gets it. Now they’ll finally treat me fairly. They got worse! They’re worse now than ever. They’re loco, but that’s OK … I used that word because of the fact we made a deal with Mexico.”

As is his wont, Trump also savaged the Democrats over their handling of the multiple allegations of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh. “I watched those senators on the Democrat side, and I thought it was a disgrace, partially because I know them,” he said. “I know them too well, and you know what? They are not angels.”

Referring to one unnamed Democratic senator who was “very aggressive”, he added darkly: “I’ve seen that person in very bad situations. OK? I have seen that person in very, very bad situations. Somewhat compromising.”

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Is that a threat? Asked what he meant, Trump replied: “I think I’ll save it for a book like everybody else and I’ll write it. I’m not giving it to you.”

Again Trump defended Kavanaugh, claiming his critics were desperate by going all the way back to his high school days. He looked around the Rose Garden. “There are bad reports on everybody in here. Most of the people sitting down, there are bad – except for Mike Pence, by the way.”

The treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, sporting shades, and senior adviser Jared Kushner, smooth-cheeked, and other officials standing behind Trump on the podium grinned broadly. Waving his arms and pointing, the president added: “And if we find one on him, I think that’s going to be – that’ll be the greatest shock of all time.”

Pence, sitting in the front row, chuckled and gently shook his head, like a man who has got used to his colleague having one too many.