Donald Trump appeared to lose his cool during a visit to a Michigan Ford plant, responding to a shouting individual with a gesture that quickly drew national attention. A brief video captured the moment the president seemingly flipped off the heckler, sparking questions about the exchange and the reaction that followed.
Donald Trump appears to flip off heckler during Michigan plant visit
During a tour of a Ford plant in Michigan on Tuesday, President Donald Trump appeared to flip off a person on the factory floor after they shouted something at him. TMZ obtained a 30-second video that captured the moment. In the footage, Trump points toward the factory floor before raising his right hand and appearing to make an obscene gesture. A second angle shows him standing still and repeating the gesture, seemingly mouthing or saying “f— you” twice.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung issued a statement afterward, saying, “A lunatic was wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage, and the President gave an appropriate and unambiguous response.” Cheung did not elaborate further.
The Washington Post identified the person who shouted at Trump as TJ Sabula, a 40-year-old line worker at the Ford plant. Sabula told the Post he yelled during the president’s visit and said something about the things going on in the company.
Ford addressed the situation in a statement from David Tovar, Executive Director of Corporate Communications: “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.” He further added that “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” (via CNN).
At the time of writing, Trump hasn’t made any public comments about the matter.
