The US President visits a car factory in Michigan. At first everything stays calm, but then there is a scandal. The White House has already commented.
01/14/2026, 04:31January 14, 2026, 05:50
Christoph Cöln / t-online
Donald Trump once again caused a stir when he visited a Ford car manufacturer factory in Dearborn, Michigan, on Tuesday. After the president gave a speech to employees, he was apparently insulted by one of the Ford employees, whereupon the 79-year-old first pointed his index finger at the man and then gave him the middle finger. This is suggested by several video recordings that the “TMZ” portal published of the incident on Tuesday.
Donald Trump lost his good mood during his visit to a Ford factory in Michigan.Image: keystone
Accordingly, the employee is said to have shouted “pedophile protector” (in German: “pedophile friend”) in the direction of Trump. The US President is said to have responded with the middle finger gesture and shouted “fuck you” twice.
The White House later confirmed the authenticity of the video recordings. It also defended the president’s response. “In a fit of rage, a madman made wild accusations – the president responded appropriately and unequivocally,” White House communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement.
Ford employees face consequences
California Gov. Gavin Newsom posted the scene on his social media profiles. The Democrat wrote:
“Did someone hit a sore spot?”
Trump has been criticized for months for his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case. The White House’s actions with thousands of pages of files on the pedocriminal case sparked widespread criticism from politicians and the US population. Even parts of Trump’s MAGA movement had recently expressed disappointment and even outrage at the commander in chief’s handling of the scandal.
However, the exclamation could have unpleasant consequences for the Ford employee. The company announced that it is examining labor law measures against the man. “We had a great event today and are proud of how our employees represented Ford,” company spokesman David Tovar told CNN. Ford employees will not be tolerated if they make “inappropriate comments.”
“If something like this happens, we have a process to deal with it, but we don’t address specific personnel matters.”
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