Donald Trump raised his middle finger and appeared to direct profanity toward a Michigan auto plant worker who criticised the US president’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein controversy during a visit on Tuesday, video circulating online showed.

The entertainment site TMZ first published video of the exchange, and the White House did not dispute its authenticity.

“A lunatic was wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage, and the President gave an appropriate and unambiguous response,” White House spokesman Steven Cheung told Reuters in an email.

Trump was touring the Ford F-150 assembly facility in Dearborn when a worker on the plant floor shouted what sounded like “paedophile protector” as the president stood on an elevated walkway, the video showed. Trump turned toward the individual and appeared to respond with an expletive before making a hand gesture with his middle finger as he walked off.

After the incident, the worker who shouted at the president was suspended, the United Auto Workers union told Reuters. The union and Ford did not identify the worker, and attempts to contact the man named in media reports were unsuccessful.

The UAW, which represents workers at the plant, issued a statement on Wednesday defending its members’ right to free speech and vowed to “ensure that our member receives the full protection of all negotiated contract language safeguarding his job.”

“Workers should never be subjected to vulgar language or behaviour by anyone – including the President of the United States,” the union said.

Two online fundraising campaigns for the worker on GoFundMe.com received nearly $600,000 in donations by Wednesday afternoon.

Other Ford employees cheered and welcomed the president as he toured the assembly line, taking photos with workers and shaking hands.

Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford, speaking with the media after the factory tour, called the incident unfortunate and said he was embarrassed by it.

“That was six seconds out of an hour tour. And the tour went great,” he said. “I think he really enjoyed it and we did too.”

Trump has occasionally used profanity in public settings to emphasize his point or respond to criticism and confrontation.

During a campaign stop at a Detroit auto plant in 2020, former US President Joe Biden, then a Democratic candidate, used a profanity in an exchange with a factory worker who accused him of trying to take away gun rights.

Trump has faced persistent scrutiny of his handling of sensitive federal records tied to Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died by suicide in jail in 2019.

Many of Trump’s most loyal supporters believe the government is withholding documents that would reveal the late financier’s ties to powerful public figures. Trump has repeatedly denied any knowledge of Epstein’s alleged abuse and sex trafficking of girls and has not been accused of wrongdoing.

Trump’s visit to the Michigan plant was part of an effort to highlight his administration’s support for US manufacturing, a key theme as the 2026 election year unfolds. Michigan is seen as a politically important state, and domestic jobs and industry have been central to Trump’s economic messaging.