President Donald Trump was defended by the White House after he responded to a heckler with an obscene gesture during a visit to a Ford F-150 assembly plant in Dearborn, Michigan.

A cellphone video from the January 13 tour shows Trump on an elevated walkway reacting to someone on the factory floor shouting at him, mouthing “f--k you” and appearing to raise his middle finger before continuing his tour and engaging with other workers.

The outburst followed an accusation from the heckler that Trump was a “pedophile protector,” a reference to criticisms surrounding his past handling of the federal investigation into the late Jeffrey Epstein.

The White House, through communications director Steven Cheung, characterised the critic as “a lunatic wildly screaming expletives” and said the president’s response was an “appropriate and unambiguous response” to what it described as a disruptive interruption of the visit.

The administration did not dispute the video’s authenticity, emphasising Trump’s continued focus on highlighting American manufacturing during the tour and his broader policy agenda.

The worker who confronted Trump, identified as United Auto Workers Local 600 member T.J. Sabula, has been suspended by Ford pending an internal review, and his comments have drawn both support and criticism online.

Some union representatives have said workers should not face retaliation for expressing views, while other observers have underscored workplace expectations around respectful conduct.

The incident has reignited discussion around Trump’s historical associations with Epstein and the slow pace of federal release of related documents, which Trump has dismissed as politically motivated.

Despite the episode, many plant employees were seen interacting positively with Trump during other parts of his visit, and Ford leadership described the overall event as successful.