Workers who attended the event described a mix of shock and discomfort. Some said they barely registered what was said until they saw the video later. Others said the tension was palpable in real time, with the factory floor falling quiet as the exchange unfolded.
By the end of the day, the visit was no longer about Ford, jobs, or policy. It was about a president caught on camera flipping off a critic and the unresolved questions that continue to surround his past associations and present decisions.
