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DEARBORN, Mich. (FOX 2) - President Donald Trump's visit to the Ford F-Series plant in Dearborn did not go without incident Tuesday — according to one eyewitness phone video.
Big picture view:
In the video posted by TMZ, a factory worker appears to launch profanities at President Trump and although the audio is difficult to dissect, reports say he seems to call him a "pedophile protector."
President Trump then appears to point from the catwalk he was on, and say "f*** you," twice, followed by flipping the middle finger.
The back-and-forth exchange was recorded on a phone which TMZ posted.
Trump was touring the facility and gave a joint press conference with top Ford Motor Company brass Bill Ford Jr. and Jim Farley before a speech before the Detroit Economic Club.
What they're saying:
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung defended Trump in a statement to TMZ.
"A lunatic was wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage, and the President gave an appropriate and unambiguous response," he told the outlet.
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Cheung has not released an official statement on social media as of yet.
The Michigan Democratic Party Chair pounced on the incident with a statement.
"I never thought we would see an American president welcome Chinese automakers and tell an American autoworker to f--- off... but here we are," said Curtis Hertel. "Although we’re not as surprised since he has been telling working people to f--- off since last January. Donald Trump is a disaster for Michigan workers."
Meanwhile, Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib said the worker, TJ Sabula, was suspended without pay after the back and forth. The congresswoman shared a GoFundMe for Sabula which has raised $200 as of the time this was written.
"The president responded to TJ with his middle finger saying "F*CK you" and "You’re Fired". Ford responded by suspending TJ without pay," she wrote. "TJ is a father of two young children, husband, and is a proud United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 600 line worker. Funds donated will support TJ and his family to cover expenses during this time of uncertainty."
Ford released a statement later in the day, saying:
"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. 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." ~Ford spokesperson