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The White House has defended US President Donald Trump after he aimed an offensive gesture at a heckler during his appearance at the Ford factory in Detroit on Tuesday.

Footage of the incident published by TMZ appears to show Trump responding to a man who shouted at him from afar.

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

The heckler has been suspended by Ford, the United Auto Workers union told the BBC’s US partner, CBS News. Within 24 hours of the incident, two separate GoFundMe pages have raised nearly $700,000 (£521,000) for him from more than 27,000 donors.

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 the subtitles provided by TMZ, the heckler called Trump a “paedophile protector”.

In the clip, which shows Trump from a distance, the president can be seen speaking back at the heckler, allegedly mouthing an expletive as well as using a middle-finger gesture.

A man who spoke to The Washington Post, named TJ Sabula, identified himself as the man who shouted. He said he had “no regrets” about what he did.

Sabula reportedly said he his remarks referred to Trump’s handling of the Epstein files.

Trump has faced pressure for more transparency on what was uncovered by federal investigations into Jeffrey Epstein, the late convicted sex offender.

Trump signed a law that compelled the Department of Justice (DoJ) to release all the files that it held on Epstein by 19 December, although only a fraction of the files have so far been made public.

Trump was once friends with Epstein before they fell out, which Trump says was years before Epstein was first arrested. Trump has not been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.

United Automotive Workers (UAW), the union that represents Sabula, defended his actions, 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 was in Detroit on Tuesday to give a speech to the Detroit Economic Club.

The president’s public use of expletives have attracted headlines in the past – for example, when discussing the relationship between Iran and Israel last June.

His predecessor Joe Biden also caused controversy for uttering an expletive during a conversation with a worker during his own visit to a factory in Detroit while on the campaign trail in 2020, before he was elected president.

Denmark’s foreign minister has said there is a “fundamental disagreement” with the US over Greenland after talks at the White House.

Lars Lokke Rasmussen said the meeting with Vice-President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday had been “frank but constructive”. But he added that US President Trump was insisting on “conquering” Greenland which was “totally unacceptable”.

“We made it very, very clear that this is not in the interest of [Denmark],” he said.

Trump afterwards reiterated his interest in acquiring the resource-rich island, a position that has rattled allies across Europe and stoked tensions with Nato.

The hour-long meeting between the US, Denmark and Greenland failed to bring a major breakthrough, although all sides agreed to set-up a high-level working group to discuss the future of the autonomous Danish territory.

Rasmussen said there were “red lines” the US could not cross, and the working group would meet in the coming weeks in an effort to find a compromise. He added that Denmark and Greenland were open to the possibility of the US opening more military bases on the island.

Despite being the most sparsely populated territory, Greenland’s location between North America and the Arctic makes it well placed for early warning systems in the event of missile attacks, and for monitoring vessels in the region.

Trump has repeatedly said that Greenland is vital to US national security.

The US already has more than 100 military personnel permanently stationed at its Pituffik base in Greenland’s north-western tip – a facility that has been operated by the US since World War Two.

Under existing agreements with Denmark, the US has the power to bring as many troops as it wants to Greenland.

After the meeting, Denmark vowed to send armed forces to the island.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greenland Vivian Motzfeldt said the territory was open to greater co-operation with the US but also opposed a takeover.

“We have shown where our limits are,” Motzfeldt said.

Vance and Rubio did not immediately comment after the meeting. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office: “We need Greenland for national security.”

“The problem is there’s not a thing that Denmark can do about it if Russia or China wants to occupy Greenland, but there’s everything we can do,” he said, adding that he does not believe the US can rely on Denmark to defend the island.

As tensions simmered in Washington, allies in Europe moved quickly to show support for Greenland.

Sweden on Wednesday pledged to send armed forces to Greenland at Denmark’s request. France’s foreign minister said the country planned to open a consulate on the island next month.

Germany said in a statement provided to the BBC that it would send a “reconnaissance team” to Greenland to “explore the general conditions for possible military contributions to support Denmark in ensuring security in the region”.

Denmark said its military expansion in Greenland will take place “in close cooperation with allies”.

“Geopolitical tensions have spread to the arctic,” it said in a statement.

The White House talks were just the latest round of diplomatic discussions over Trump’s growing interest in somehow taking control of Greenland.

It is unclear whether the president is considering using military force to seize the island. He declined to rule it out when asked on Wednesday.

Other options reportedly under consideration include purchasing the territory – though neither Danes nor Greenlanders have said it’s for sale.

Since taking office, Vance has criticized Denmark’s stewardship of Greenland. The vice president visited soon after taking office in a trip meant to signal the administration’s interest in acquiring the territory.

Trump has argued control of the territory is critical for his planned missile defense system, Golden Dome.

“It is vital for the Golden Dome that we are building,” Trump said in a social media post early Wednesday. “NATO should be leading the way for us to get it.”

Public opinion polls show a majority of Greenland residents oppose coming under US control.

Most Americans oppose US control of Greenland as well. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released Wednesday found that just 17% of Americans support the US seizing Greenland, compared to 47 percent who said they opposed Trump’s push to acquire the island.

Trump’s focus on Greenland comes on the heels of US attacks on Venezuela and ISIS In Syria in recent weeks. Trump has also threatened to take military action to stop Iran’s deadly crackdown on a growing protest movement engulfing the nation.

TSGT Scott Reed, USAF