Donald Trump Responds to Accusation with Frustration as White House Supports His Reaction

Donald Trump speaks as he tours the Ford Motor Company’s River Rouge complex in Dearborn, Michigan, on January 13, 2026.
Credit:

Mandel NGAN/AFP via Getty

NEED TO KNOW

• President Donald Trump was filmed raising his middle finger and shouting “F–k you” at a man who called him a “pedophile protector.”
• The incident occurred during Trump’s visit to the Ford F-150 plant prior to his speech at the Detroit Economic Club on January 13.
• The comment appears to reference Trump’s ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

President Donald Trump was recorded raising his middle finger and shouting “F–k you” to an individual who accused him of being a “pedophile protector.” This exchange unfolded amidst the contentious release of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, prompting a defense from the White House.

The incident, captured on video and shared by TMZ, took place while Trump, 79, toured the Ford F-150 plant before addressing the Detroit Economic Club. The individual who made the accusation was reportedly a plant worker, according to the outlet.

“A lunatic was wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage, and the president gave an appropriate and unambiguous response,” stated White House spokesperson Steven Cheung.

A Ford representative commented to TMZ, 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.”

The accusation directed at Trump relates to his associations with Jeffrey Epstein, a financier who was charged with sex trafficking minors before his death in 2019 while incarcerated. Following a Congressionally mandated deadline on December 19, the Department of Justice released several documents related to Epstein, although officials indicated that over 2 million documents remain classified, as reported by The Washington Post on January 6.

In a statement on December 23, the Department of Justice confirmed the release of nearly 30,000 additional pages of documents concerning Epstein. It noted that some of these documents contained baseless claims against Trump, submitted to the FBI shortly before the 2020 election. The Justice Department emphasized the lack of credibility surrounding these allegations, stating: “If they had a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already. Nevertheless, out of our commitment to the law and transparency, the DOJ is releasing these documents with the legally required protections for Epstein’s victims.”