The White House issued a statement calling the heckler a "lunatic" who was "wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage," adding that the President gave an "appropriate and unambiguous response." The incident occurred while Trump was visiting the Ford plant in Michigan.
The heckler, whose identity has not been officially released, has been suspended by Ford, according to the United Auto Workers union, which spoke to CBS News, the BBC's US partner. 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."
According to subtitles provided by TMZ, the heckler allegedly called Trump a "paedophile." The incident has quickly become a viral sensation, igniting discussions across social media platforms and cable news networks.
Within 24 hours of the incident, two separate GoFundMe pages have collectively raised nearly $700,000 (£521,000) for the heckler from more than 27,000 donors, highlighting the divisive nature of the event and the strong opinions it has elicited from the public. The rapid fundraising success underscores the cultural impact of the incident and the audience appeal of challenging authority, particularly in the current political climate. The incident has also raised questions about freedom of speech, workplace conduct, and the appropriate response to political dissent.
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