The White House has come to the defense of US President Donald Trump following an incident during his visit to a Ford factory in Detroit on Tuesday, where he directed an offensive gesture towards a heckler. Footage of the event, released by TMZ, captures the moment when the president responded to a man who shouted derogatory remarks from a distance.
In a statement addressing the incident, the White House described the heckler as a "lunatic" who was "wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage." They added that the president's reaction was both "appropriate and unambiguous." The heckler, identified as an individual who made a scene during the event, has since been suspended from Ford, as confirmed by the United Auto Workers union in a report to CBS News.
A spokesperson for Ford emphasized the company's commitment to respect, stating, "One of our core values is respect and we don't condone anyone saying anything inappropriate like that within our facilities. When that happens, we have a process to deal with it but we don't get into specific personnel matters."
According to subtitles provided by TMZ, the heckler referred to Trump as a "paedophile protector." In the video clip, which shows the president at a distance, Trump can be seen reacting to the heckler, reportedly mouthing an expletive and making a middle-finger gesture. A man named TJ Sabula, who spoke with The Washington Post, has claimed responsibility for the outburst, stating he has no regrets regarding his comments. He asserted that his remarks were a critique of Trump's handling of the Epstein files.
President Trump has faced increasing pressure to provide greater transparency concerning what was uncovered during federal investigations into Jeffrey Epstein, the late convicted sex offender. In response to these concerns, Trump signed a law mandating the Department of Justice to release all files related to Epstein by December 19. However, only a limited number of these documents have been made public thus far.
It is worth noting that Trump had a prior association with Epstein, which he claims ended years before Epstein's first arrest. Importantly, Trump has not been accused of any wrongdoing linked to Epstein.
During his visit to Detroit, Trump was scheduled to deliver a speech at the Detroit Economic Club. This latest incident adds to a history of the president's public use of expletives, which has previously garnered media attention, such as his remarks concerning the relationship between Iran and Israel last June.
Interestingly, Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, also faced backlash for using an expletive during a conversation with a worker while visiting a factory in Detroit during his campaign trail in 2020, prior to his election as president.