Donald Trump appeared to ‘flip off’ a Ford plant employee on Tuesday, following a heated exchange in which he was branded a ‘pedophile protector’.
The incident occurred during a pre-planned visit to a Michigan Ford plant, when a disgruntled worked began shouting a number of derogatory and expletive laden remarks at the president.
In footage caught on camera, Trump responded by pointing at the employee, before appearing to say ‘f**k you’ and flipping them the bird.
While not the most presidential behaviour you could expect from a world leader, the White House has defended the unorthodox response by saying it was ‘appropriate’ given the circumstance.
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“A lunatic was wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage, and the President gave an appropriate and unambiguous response,” White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said in a statement.
A 30-second video, obtained by TMZ, shows someone appearing to shout in the president’s direction, though the details about what was being yelled remain unclear.
As per the publication’s account of the incident, the person was allegedly calling Trump a ‘pedophile protector’, likely in relation to the delay behind the release of the full Jeffrey Epstein files.
The Justice Department has since released thousands of documents relating to the Epstein case following public pressure.
The video shows the president pointing to the factory floor a few times as he continues to walk through part of the factory.
Just before leaving the shot entirely, he then seemingly gives the middle finger to the person who had been yelling at him and said or mouthed something that looked a lot like ‘f**k you’, twice.
In light of the incident, Ford’s Executive Director of Corporate Communications David Tovar commented on the interaction, telling CNN: “We had a great event today and we’re proud of how our employees represented Ford.
“We’ve seen the clip you’re referring to. 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.”
Following Trump’s ‘unpresidential’ outburst, many users took to social media to share their thoughts on the interaction, with many slamming the president for his actions.
"Very presidential," wrote one person.
"Classy as always," added another.
While a third disagreed, adding: "Trump has disappointed me with a lot of things in his 2nd term but this is what I like about him."
Topics: Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, US News
Phoebe Tonks