White House Defends Donald Trump’s Response After Heckler Incident at Ford Plant [WATCH]

The White House defended President Donald Trump on Tuesday after a video circulated online showing the president reacting to a heckler during a visit to a Ford manufacturing facility in Michigan, calling his response “appropriate and unambiguous.”

As Fox News reported, the incident occurred during Trump’s tour of the Ford River Rouge Complex in Dearborn, where the president was appearing as part of a scheduled visit focused on U.S. manufacturing and the auto industry. Video of the exchange was first published by TMZ.

The footage shows Trump briefly turning toward someone shouting from the crowd as he walked through the factory. In the video, Trump appears to mouth the words “f*ck you” twice while making an obscene gesture with his middle finger before continuing on his way.

TMZ reported that the exchange followed a heckler shouting an insult at the president off camera and described Trump’s reaction as “flipping the bird.”

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung defended the president’s actions in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“A lunatic was wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage, and the President gave an appropriate and unambiguous response,” Cheung said.

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The White House did not identify the individual who was shouting in the video. However, a Ford employee later came forward claiming responsibility and said he was suspended from his job pending an investigation into the incident.

TJ Sabula, a 40-year-old United Auto Workers Local 600 line worker at the plant, told The Washington Post that he was the person who shouted at Trump during the visit. Sabula said Ford suspended him following the encounter and launched an internal investigation.

“As far as calling him out, definitely no regrets whatsoever,” Sabula told the newspaper.

He added that he is concerned about his job status and believes he has been “targeted for political retribution” for “embarrassing Trump in front of his friends.”

Sabula said he identifies as politically independent and has never voted for Trump, though he told the outlet he has supported other Republican candidates in the past.

He estimated that he was standing approximately 60 feet away from the president at the time of the exchange and said Trump could hear him “very, very, very clearly.”

“I don’t feel as though fate looks upon you often, and when it does, you better be ready to seize the opportunity,” Sabula told The Washington Post. “And today I think I did that.”

Ford Motor Company has not publicly commented on the specifics of the investigation or confirmed Sabula’s account.

Fox News Digital reported that it has not independently verified the identity of the individual who claimed responsibility for the heckling.

Trump’s visit to the Ford facility was part of a broader effort to highlight domestic manufacturing and the role of American auto workers. The brief confrontation, captured on video, quickly spread online and drew national attention, prompting the White House’s response later the same day.

No additional disciplinary actions or conclusions from Ford’s internal review had been announced as of Tuesday evening.

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