Overview
- Cellphone video first published by TMZ shows President Donald Trump mouthing an expletive and raising his middle finger toward a Ford employee during a tour of the Dearborn F-150 plant.
- The White House did not dispute the video’s authenticity, and communications director Steven Cheung called the response "appropriate" after a worker yelled "pedophile protector."
- The worker has been identified in multiple reports as TJ Sabula, a 40-year-old UAW Local 600 line worker, who said he has been suspended pending investigation and expressed no regrets.
- The UAW confirmed a suspension, and Ford said the company handles such incidents through internal processes, citing a core value of respect while declining to discuss personnel specifics.
- Trump’s stop at the plant preceded a Detroit Economic Club speech, and reporters noted other workers cheered and took photos as the episode fueled political reactions tied to scrutiny of the Epstein files.