White House defends Donald Trump’s decision to ‘give the middle finger’

The White House has defended Donald Trump's decision to stick his middle finger up at a heckler.

For those who aren't in the loop, the drama unfolded while the US President, 79, was touring a Ford F-150 plant at the Detroit Economic Club in Michigan on Tuesday (13 January).

He'd been scheduled to enjoy a factory tour, before delivering a speech. However, the visit didn't exactly go as smoothly as the Republican leader had hoped.

As first reported by TMZ and as seen in videos circulating on social media, while being guided around the factory floor, someone began shouting at Trump.

While it's not entirely clear what the worker said, the publication reported that it included the words 'pedophile protector'.

It's assumed that they were referring to the President's former friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide while awaiting sex tracking charges back in 2019.

The White House has commented on Trump's viral middle finger incident (Anna Moneymaker / Staff / via Getty)

Trump socialised with Epstein in the 1990s and 2000s, before they fell out in the mid 2000s. Trump has continuously denied any wrongdoing or any knowledge of Epstein's crimes.

The footage allegedly shows Trump responding by mouthing the words 'f**k you' at the heckler, as well as giving him the middle finger.

And now, as we say, the White House has responded to the incident, declaring that the world leader's response was 'appropriate'.

As per The Guardian, White House director of communications Steven Cheung said: "A lunatic was wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage, and the President gave an appropriate and unambiguous response."

It's since been revealed that the worker in question was 40-year-old TJ Sabula.

The Washington Post reports that Sabula is an United Auto Workers Local 600 line worker at the factory.

He told the publication that he believes he has been 'targeted for political retribution' for 'embarrassing Trump in front of his friends'.

According to Fox News, Sabula has been suspended from his job pending an internal investigation into the incident, but that he has 'no regrets whatsoever'.

The worker in question has since been suspending pending an internal investigation (CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)

A Ford spokesperson told CBS: "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."

While, as per the BBC, United Automotive Workers (UAW), the union that represents Sabula, defended him, saying: "He believes in freedom of speech, a principle we wholeheartedly embrace, and we stand with our membership in protecting their voice on the job."

Trump's explicit reaction has sparked divide on social media, with some people slamming it as 'embarrassing'.

One Twitter user wrote: "This is not a middle finger to a single person. It is a middle finger to the whole world. Trump has become a dangerous man. I mean it."

While a second person added: "Someone start a gofundme for that legend" and a third wrote: "A president showing his middle finger to people. So embarrassing!"