'Can you imagine what a mess I'd be?': Trump ruminates on alcohol abuse while expressing surprise about Kavanaugh's drinking revelations
- President Donald Trump said Monday he was surprised that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh professed to loving beer.
- "I watched him and I was surprised at how vocal he was about the fact that he likes beer," Trump said.
- Trump said he does not drink, adding that is a good thing for the world.
- "Can you imagine if I had?" Trump said. "What a mess I would be. I would be the world's worst."
President Donald Trump said Monday that he was surprised that his nominee for the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh, professed his love for beer repeatedly during a Thursday hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Trump, who said he does not drink, added that his abstinence is a good thing because, he joked, he "would be the world's worst" if he indulged.
"I watched him and I was surprised at how vocal he was about the fact that he likes beer," Trump said. "He's had a little bit of difficulty. He talked about things that happened when he drank. This is not a man that said alcohol was - he was perfect with respect to alcohol. I thought he was actually going back so many years. I thought he was excellent."
Trump made the comment after being asked during a Monday press conference announcing his new trade agreement with Mexico and Canada whether he would pull Kavanaugh's nomination if it turned out that he lied about his past drinking to the Senate.
"I don't think he did," Trump said. "I'm not a drinker and I can honestly say I never had a beer in my life. One of my only good traits. I don't drink. I never had a glass of alcohol. I never had alcohol. For whatever reason. Can you imagine if I had? What a mess I would be. I would be the world's worst."
Trump said he watched the hearing and saw "a man saying that he did have difficulty as a young man."
The president added that people were not questioning him about more recent times in his life, such as during his professional career, instead focusing on high school and college.
"They go back to high school," Trump said. "I graduated from high school and while I did not drink, I saw a lot of people drinking. They drink beer and go crazy and they were in high school. They were 16, 17 years old. I saw a lot of it. Does that mean that they can't do something they want to do in their life? It's a tough thing. I believe he was very strong on the fact that he drank a lot and I don't know whether it's a big discrepancy."
Kavanaugh has minimized his high school and college drinking
Kavanaugh was questioned repeatedly by senators during his Thursday hearing about his drinking habits.
The purpose of Thursday's hearing was to examine the allegations of sexual assault levied against him by professor Christine Blasey Ford, who said he assaulted her at a high school party in the early 1980s. Another accuser, Deborah Ramirez, a Yale classmate, alleged misconduct at dorm party, while a third accuser, Julie Swetnick, alleged misconduct at a high school party.
Kavanaugh has denied all of those claims against him.
During the hearing, the judge said he "liked beer" but that he "did not drink beer to the point of blacking out" and did not sexually assault anyone.
Meanwhile, a former classmate of Kavanaugh's at Yale said the judge was misleading about his drinking habits, telling news outlets that Kavanaugh "was often belligerent and aggressive" when drunk.
"I can unequivocally say that in denying the possibility that he ever blacked out from drinking, and in downplaying the degree and frequency of his drinking, Brett has not told the truth," North Carolina State University professor Chad Ludington said.
Another Yale classmate of Kavanaugh's - former NBA player Chris Dudley, said he "never, ever saw Brett Kavanaugh black out" from drinking.