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Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg criticized President Trump On Wednesday after the reports, the president uttered an expletive and made an obscene gesture at a caller during a visit to a Ford factory in Michigan.
Speaking at Detroit Auto Show in Detroit, Buttigieg said the reported incident reflected what he described as a broader pattern in Trump’s treatment of auto workers.
“I don’t know much about the (human resources) side,” Buttigieg said. “What I do know is that President Trump literally did what I think he’s been doing figuratively for a while, which is give auto workers the finger.”
Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg speaks at a Global Mobility Forum at the 2026 Detroit Auto Show on Jan. 14, 2026, in Detroit. (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images/Getty Images)
Buttigieg accused Trump of being a “union buster” and blamed him for job losses across the country.
“Look, he’s been a union breaker,” Buttigieg said. “He has presided over the loss of manufacturing jobs in this country And then when someone sees someone as powerful as him walk into his workplace, he gives him the old “FU”.
“In a way, it’s in character that he’s like that. And obviously my sympathies go with the worker and not with the president.”
President Donald Trump, center, walks with Bill Ford, left, executive chairman of Ford Motor Company, and Ford CEO Jim Farley as they tour the Ford River Rouge Complex on January 13, 2026 in Dearborn, Michigan. (Getty Images/Getty Images)
The comments followed a video, first released by TMZ, that appears to show Trump uttering an expletive and making an obscene gesture at a caller during a visit Tuesday to the Ford River Rouge complex in Dearborn, Michigan.
In the footage, Trump briefly turns to someone shouting in the crowd and appears to utter the words “f— you” twice while raising his middle finger before continuing to walk.
TMZ reported that the exchange followed a caller yelling an insult at the president off-camera. The outlet described Trump’s reaction as “flipping the bird” as he continued to walk away.
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Ford signage at a dealership in Richmond, California, June 21, 2024. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
White House communications director Steven Cheung defended the president’s reaction, telling Fox News Digital: “A madman was yelling expletives in a complete fit of rage, and the president gave an appropriate and unambiguous response.”
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The auto worker who was suspended has said he has “no regrets”.
The White House and Pete Buttigieg could not immediately be reached for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Skye Baehr and Landon Mion contributed to this report.
