President Donald Trump was captured on video raising his middle finger and shouting “F— you” at someone who called him a “pedophile protector,” as renewed attention on the full release of the Epstein-related files continues — and the White House is defending the president’s reaction.
The exchange, shown in a clip published by TMZ, happened Tuesday, Jan. 13, during Trump’s visit to the Ford F-150 plant ahead of his appearance at the Detroit Economic Club in Michigan. The outlet reported the remark came from a worker at the facility.
White House spokesperson Steven Cheung described the person as “a lunatic” and said the individual was “wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage,” adding that Trump “gave an appropriate and unambiguous response.”
Ford also addressed the footage in a statement, saying the company was “proud of how our employees represented Ford” during the visit. The spokesperson added that the company had seen the clip and emphasized that “one of our core values is respect,” noting it does not condone “anyone saying anything inappropriate” inside its facilities. The statement said the company has a process for handling such incidents, but it does not discuss specific personnel matters.
The comment directed at Trump appeared to reference his past association with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 and had previously faced federal charges related to *** trafficking of minors.
The Department of Justice has released thousands of documents connected to Epstein after a Congressionally mandated release deadline passed on Dec. 19. But Justice Department officials also told a federal judge that more than 2 million documents still have not been released, The Washington Post reported on Jan. 6.
In a Dec. 23 statement, the DOJ said it had “officially released nearly 30,000 more pages of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein,” adding that some materials include “untrue and sensationalist claims made against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election.”
“To be clear: the claims are unfounded and false,” the DOJ statement continued, adding that if the allegations had any credibility, “they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already.” The department said it was releasing the documents “out of our commitment to the law and transparency,” while applying “the legally required protections for Epstein’s victims.”
