THIN SKINNED TRUMP
President Donald Trump talks with workers at Ford’s F-150 factory in Dearborn. Jan. 13, 2025 | White House photo
January 14, 2026
A union-backed auto worker at Ford Motor Co. was caught on video heckling President Donald Trump as a “pedophile protector” when he visited a Dearborn factory on Tuesday ahead of his address to the Detroit Economic Club. The video that has now gone viral shows Trump responded in kind by mouthing an expletive at the worker, twice, and displaying a middle finger as he walked away.
Now, the union says the worker has been suspended while Ford looks into the matter.
A representative from the UAW told Michigan Advance that they could confirm that he was suspended but the length of the suspension was unknown. The union was also uncertain about the process that would follow to investigate the matter.
A message seeking comment from Ford to confirm if the worker was fired or suspended was not immediately returned on Tuesday evening.
In a statement to the Advance, White House communications director Steven Cheung called the worker “a lunatic” who was “wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage.”
“And the president gave an appropriate and unambiguous response,” Cheung said.
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) said she spoke to a well placed source in the worker’s local union who said he was facing disciplinary action.
“Ford said they can’t talk about it because it’s a human resources issue,” Tlaib said. “In the past, when President Obama (went) onto the plant floor and other times people have said some terrible things, they didn’t get fired.”
U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Ann Arbor) also told the Advance that the union confirmed that the confrontation meant the man was facing disciplinary action.
Dingell also said she was inquiring with Ford about the status of the man’s employment, and if he was being suspended and investigated in violation of his free speech rights.
“When you’re on a factory floor with union members that have strong feelings, you need to be prepared for whatever they’re gonna say, and I hope they’re not firing him because I believe in free speech,” Dingell said in an interview. “The UAW worker was expressing his right to free speech, and I’m asking questions as to what has happened.”
The video, which was first published by Distill Social shows Trump walking around a raised portion of the Dearborn F-150 plant when the worker, who is not seen on screen, yells to Trump and calls him a “pedophile protector,” a reference to Trump’s widely reported connections to deceased pedophile and sex trafficker Jeffery Epstein and the Trump administration’s bungling of a new law that ordered the FBI to release all of the files that the department had available to them.
Some have seen the constant delays from the FBI and the slow walk to release the files as Trump protecting either himself or his wealthy elite friends from scrutiny or a clear connection to Epstein.
In response to the confrontation, the Democratic National Committee denounced Trump for being “more concerned with his ego than his spiraling economy, where job cuts are skyrocketing, hiring has slowed, unemployment remains high, and prices continue to soar.”
“As working families struggle to make ends meet in Trump’s economy, the Trump family and their wealthy donors keep getting richer — there’s no bigger ‘F-you’ than that,” said DNC Senior Advisor for Messaging, Mobilization and Strategy Tim Hogan in a statement. “The real question is: Why does the mere mention of Epstein set him off?”
Tlaib echoed that point.
“The worker could have said anything, but this worker felt compelled to say you’re protecting a pedophile. I feel very strongly that Ford Motor Company is sending a message that people can’t stand up for sexual abuse survivors,” Tlaib said.
'Put your big boy pants on': Ex-RNC chair tears into Trump after wild meltdown at heckler
Matthew Chapman
January 13, 2026
Matthew Chapman
January 13, 2026
RAW STORY
President Donald Trump debased his office when he lost control and flipped the bird at a heckler in Detroit who called him a "pedophile protector," MS NOW anchor and former Republican National Committee chief Michael Steele observed in a discussion with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) on Tuesday's edition of "The Weeknight."
"So we all know we have a very, in my estimation, a very underdeveloped man sitting in the White House," said Steele to Khanna, one of the main sponsors of legislation to compel the White House to release the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case files, which have still not been released in full despite legal deadlines.
"That was just a punkish move," Steele continued. "I don't know who he thinks he was impressing. I guess it's more impressive if the President of the United States flips you off. But put your big boy pants on, Mr. President, the country is a big country, and we have opinions. We have opinions about you. We have opinions about your actions. So that's all I want to say about that."
Furthermore, Steele added, "The fact that the White House response was 'a lunatic was wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage,' their overdramatization of stuff is another bit of crap we have to put up with."
"Look, it's not a coincidence of what sets him off," said Khanna. "What set him off is the heckler saying you're a protector. I was just on a podcast with Shawn Ryan. Shawn Ryan is the number two podcaster in the country. He was all in on Trump, and he said, what lost [him] is Trump is protecting — that's what this Epstein issue is about. It has gotten under his skin because he knows he's losing the MAGA base on this. He was elected to expose the corruption, to hold these people accountable. Instead, every move they made is to protect people who raped underage girls."
"And now you have, today, a federal judge who responded to Marcy and my motion, quite a breakthrough, where he's now ordered the Department of Justice to brief him on whether he should appoint a special master to actually get these documents released," said Khanna.
President Donald Trump debased his office when he lost control and flipped the bird at a heckler in Detroit who called him a "pedophile protector," MS NOW anchor and former Republican National Committee chief Michael Steele observed in a discussion with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) on Tuesday's edition of "The Weeknight."
"So we all know we have a very, in my estimation, a very underdeveloped man sitting in the White House," said Steele to Khanna, one of the main sponsors of legislation to compel the White House to release the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case files, which have still not been released in full despite legal deadlines.
"That was just a punkish move," Steele continued. "I don't know who he thinks he was impressing. I guess it's more impressive if the President of the United States flips you off. But put your big boy pants on, Mr. President, the country is a big country, and we have opinions. We have opinions about you. We have opinions about your actions. So that's all I want to say about that."
Furthermore, Steele added, "The fact that the White House response was 'a lunatic was wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage,' their overdramatization of stuff is another bit of crap we have to put up with."
"Look, it's not a coincidence of what sets him off," said Khanna. "What set him off is the heckler saying you're a protector. I was just on a podcast with Shawn Ryan. Shawn Ryan is the number two podcaster in the country. He was all in on Trump, and he said, what lost [him] is Trump is protecting — that's what this Epstein issue is about. It has gotten under his skin because he knows he's losing the MAGA base on this. He was elected to expose the corruption, to hold these people accountable. Instead, every move they made is to protect people who raped underage girls."
"And now you have, today, a federal judge who responded to Marcy and my motion, quite a breakthrough, where he's now ordered the Department of Justice to brief him on whether he should appoint a special master to actually get these documents released," said Khanna.
Gavin Newsom's Press Office blasts Trump for 'attacking fellow American' at Ford factory
Ewan Gleadow
January 14, 2026
Ewan Gleadow
January 14, 2026
RAW STORY
U.S. President Donald Trump visits a Ford production center in Dearborn, Michigan, U.S., January 13, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstei
Donald Trump has come under fire from Gavin Newsom's Press Office after the president was seen flipping off a factory worker.
Footage of Trump's trip to a Ford factory in Michigan went viral yesterday and was denounced by politicians and political analysts. Gavin Newsom's Press Office, in a now viral post to X, blasted the president for rising to the crowd's heckles. A factory worker appeared to yell "pedophile president" as Trump walked by on a walkway above.
The president reacted by giving the middle finger to the factory worker, while also reportedly shouting "f**k you". Footage of the incident has since gone viral, with Gavin Newsom's Press Office sharing the clip. They added, "Why is the President attacking a fellow American?"
Trump was touring a Ford F-150 plant in the Motor City just before his speech on the United States economy at the Detroit Economic Club when a worker started shouting at him as the president walked above the workers.
White House spokesperson Steven Cheung said of the incident, "A lunatic was wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage, and the president gave an appropriate and unambiguous response."
A statement from a Ford spokesperson added that they do not condone "anyone saying anything inappropriate". They added, "When that happens, we have a process to deal with it but we don’t get into specific personnel matters."
The worker was calling Trump out for his association with Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted child sex offender — a former friend — who he said he cut ties and threw Epstein out of his Mar-a-Lago club when he had a falling out about poaching and recruiting his staff.
Trump has not been charged with any crime or involvement with Epstein's sex trafficking ring. He has denied any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.
U.S. President Donald Trump visits a Ford production center in Dearborn, Michigan, U.S., January 13, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstei
Donald Trump has come under fire from Gavin Newsom's Press Office after the president was seen flipping off a factory worker.
Footage of Trump's trip to a Ford factory in Michigan went viral yesterday and was denounced by politicians and political analysts. Gavin Newsom's Press Office, in a now viral post to X, blasted the president for rising to the crowd's heckles. A factory worker appeared to yell "pedophile president" as Trump walked by on a walkway above.
The president reacted by giving the middle finger to the factory worker, while also reportedly shouting "f**k you". Footage of the incident has since gone viral, with Gavin Newsom's Press Office sharing the clip. They added, "Why is the President attacking a fellow American?"
Trump was touring a Ford F-150 plant in the Motor City just before his speech on the United States economy at the Detroit Economic Club when a worker started shouting at him as the president walked above the workers.
White House spokesperson Steven Cheung said of the incident, "A lunatic was wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage, and the president gave an appropriate and unambiguous response."
A statement from a Ford spokesperson added that they do not condone "anyone saying anything inappropriate". They added, "When that happens, we have a process to deal with it but we don’t get into specific personnel matters."
The worker was calling Trump out for his association with Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted child sex offender — a former friend — who he said he cut ties and threw Epstein out of his Mar-a-Lago club when he had a falling out about poaching and recruiting his staff.
Trump has not been charged with any crime or involvement with Epstein's sex trafficking ring. He has denied any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.
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