The White House has defended US President Donald Trump after he aimed an offensive gesture at a heckler during his appearance at a Ford factory in Detroit on Tuesday. The White House said: "A lunatic was wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage, and the President gave an appropriate and unambiguous response." The heckler has been suspended by Ford, the United Auto Workers union told the BBC's US partner, CBS News. According to the subtitles provided by TMZ, the heckler called Trump a "paedophile protector". Trump was once friends with Epstein before they fell out, which Trump says was years before Epstein was first arrested.

Source: The Star January 14, 2026 17:53 UTC