US President Donald Trump sparked controversy on Tuesday after he was caught on camera making an obscene gesture at a heckler during a visit to an auto plant in Michigan.
The incident occurred during a tour of the Ford F-150 factory in Detroit, where Trump, standing on an elevated walkway, appeared to point at someone on the factory floor, mutter remarks and raise his middle finger.
The heckler was not identified, but White House spokesman Steven Cheung defended Trump’s reaction, saying the individual was “wildly screaming expletives” and that the president’s response was appropriate.
TMZ reported that the heckler shouted “pedophile protector,” a remark linked to ongoing pressure on Trump to release files connected to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in jail in 2019.
Although Trump approved bipartisan legislation to release the Epstein files, the Department of Justice has missed the December 19 deadline, citing the review of more than two million documents still underway.
