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.