The White House is defending President Donald Trump’s response to an auto worker in Michigan this week. The president gave the employee the middle finger and cursed at him, which the administration called “appropriate and unambiguous.”
White House spokesperson Steven Cheung released a statement supporting the president’s action. Cheung called the heckler a “lunatic” who was “wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage.” He said the president “gave an appropriate and unambiguous response.”
According to Indy100, the incident happened when President Trump visited Michigan on Tuesday. A union worker started heckling the president during his appearance. Trump reportedly told the employee to “f— you” while flipping him off at the same time.
The White House’s defense of this gesture shows how much political norms have changed
The heckler is 40-year-old line worker TJ Sabula. He told reporters his problem was with how President Trump handled the Jeffrey Epstein matter. The administration is still facing pressure to release files about the disgraced financier. President Trump has always denied having any ties to Epstein and hasn’t been accused of any crimes related to him. Sabula says he’s politically independent and has never voted for President Trump.
The President of the United States flipping off an autoworker is a pretty good visual metaphor for this moment in history.
— Rich Luchette (@richluchette) January 13, 2026
Sabula has been suspended from his job at the Ford factory. The company is investigating the incident. Despite the suspension, Sabula isn’t backing down. He told reporters, “As far as calling him out, definitely no regrets whatsoever.”
The reaction online has been huge. Many people are shocked by the president’s gesture. Some users said this moment shows what the current political climate looks like. This comes as Trump has warned about a major financial crisis if the Supreme Court doesn’t support him. One person tweeted a picture of the event and wrote that the man “who was voted to be the voice of the blue collar worker, flipping off a blue collar worker.”
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, THE LEADER OF THE FREE WORLD, THE COMMANDER OF THE GREATEST MILITARY ON EARTH, HAS BEEN BROKEN AND CRUSHED BY A LONE HECKLER. CLEAN UP IN AISLE 47!! pic.twitter.com/G0RdfdnuM9
— Governor Newsom Press Office (parody) (@AwesomeNewsom) January 14, 2026
Former official Richard Stengel said that President Trump “is everything we teach our children not to be.” Progressive commentator Alex Cole called the action “the perfect snapshot of his whole act.” Some critics have also raised concerns about the administration’s controversial political ideologies.
Many people also pointed out a double standard. If a Democrat had done the same thing to a heckler, the political fallout and media coverage would be very different. The worker’s suspension has made the controversy even bigger.
