Liputan6.com, Jakarta - United States President Donald Trump was involved in a controversial incident while visiting the Ford Rouge plant in Dearborn, Michigan, on Tuesday, January 13, 2026.
The incident turned into a public spotlight after a direct confrontation with a worker after being shouted with a serious accusation.
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The worker called Trump a "pedophile protector," referencing to the Trump administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein dossier.
A widely circulated video of the incident shows Donald Trump's spontaneous reaction to the shouting by saying the f-word and giving the worker a middle finger.
In the TMZ video, the president appears to respond by pointing at the person and saying or uttering "f--- you" twice.
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Heated Incident at Ford Rouge Plant
The worker who call out the accusations was identified as TJ Sabula, a 40-year-old line worker at Ford and a member of United Auto Workers Local 600.
His "pedophile protector" chants were likely related to the Trump administration's handling of the files on Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted child sex offender who died in 2019.
Video of the incident quickly went viral, showing Donald Trump reacting angrily.
Trump is seen uttering the words "f--k you" and giving the worker the middle finger, while other reports even suggest he uttered the words twice.
TMZ was the first media outlet to obtain and publish the video.
Worker Identity and Ford Statement
TJ Sabula, the worker involved in the incident with Donald Trump, is a familiar figure at the Ford plant.
He is a 40-year-old line worker and an active member of the United Auto Workers Local 600 union.
As a result of the incident, Sabula was subsequently suspended from his job. He is currently awaiting the results of an internal investigation conducted by Ford.
Despite facing potentially serious consequences for his job, Sabula stated that he has no regrets about speaking out.
“As far as calling him out, definitely no regrets whatsoever,” Sabula said, as reported by CNN.
The United Auto Workers Local 600 union is likely to support Sabula throughout the investigation.
“We had a great event today and we’re proud of how our employees represented Ford,” Ford’s Executive Director of Corporate Communications David Tovar said.
“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.”
White House Reaction
The White House quickly give statement and defended Donald Trump's actions after the video gets viral in the internet.
Communications Director Steven Cheung released a statement to TMZ and other media outlets, saying the man as a "Mad Man."
Cheung stated that "a madman was screaming profanities in a fit of rage, and the President responded appropriately and unequivocally."
The recent incident sparked widespread debate across the US political environment.