US President Donald Trump appears have “flipped the bird” and sworn at a worker who yelled at him in a widely shared video of his visit to a car factory in Michigan.

Trump was touring the Ford F-150 plant in the city of Dearborn on Tuesday, in an effort to highlight his administration’s support for manufacturing when the exchange occurred.

Entertainment site TMZ, which first published the video, reported that an angry worker on the factory floor shouted out something that seemed to include the words “paedophile protector”, although the full sentence couldn’t be heard clearly.

The worker who said he was the one to yell out said he was referring to Trump’s association with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the President’s handling of the sensitive federal files relating to him.

TJ Sabula, a 40-year-old United Auto Workers Local 600 line worker, said he was about 20 metres from Trump when he yelled out. He said Trump could hear him “very, very, very clearly”.

“I don’t feel as though fate looks upon you often, and when it does, you better be ready to seize the opportunity,” he told The Washington Post.

“Today I think I did that.”

In response, Trump – who was walking along an elevated platform in the factory – pointed in Sabula’s direction and appeared to yell down “f— you”. He continued walking, then turned once more and raised his middle finger at the heckler.

Donald Trump was visiting the Ford plant to show his support for manufacturing. Photo: AP

The White House has not disputed the video’s authenticity

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

Sabula – who said he had previously voted Republican, but not for Trump – said he had since been suspended from his job. He said he was concerned for the future of his job and believed he had been “targeted for political retribution” for “embarrassing Trump in front of his friends”.

“As far as calling him out, definitely no regrets whatsoever,” he said.

A spokesperson for Ford told TMZ the company had seen the clip.

“One of our core values is respect and we don’t condone anyone saying anything inappropriate like that within our facilities,” they said.

“When that happens, we have a process to deal with it but we don’t get into specific personnel matters.”

Other Ford employees reportedly cheered and welcomed Trump as he toured the assembly line, taking photos with workers and shaking hands.

Michigan is seen as a politically important state, and domestic jobs and industry have been central to Trump’s economic messaging as the 2026 election year begins.

Trump ­– who has repeated denied knowledge of Epstein’s alleged abuse and sex trafficking ­– has occasionally used profanity in public settings, often in response to criticism, confrontation or to emphasise his point.

­–with AAP