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By Anna Commander
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President Donald Trump's was interrupted by chants of "pedophile protector" from a protester during his speech in Michigan on Monday.
Videos shared on social media show Trump speaking in Milford while the protester or protesters repeatedly shouted the phrase during his remarks, briefly disrupting the event before the president continued speaking.
The chants come as pressure has mounted from critics and some lawmakers for the release of additional documents related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
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The video shows the president saying: "he's a communist, he's a communist." The crowd then broke out into a chant of "USA! USA!" It is not yet clear whether the protester or protesters were removed from the audience.
Newsweek contacted the U.S. Secret Service via email on Monday and was referred to local authorities on the matter. Newsweek has also contacted the Village of Milford via email for comment.
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What To Know
The president was interrupted a few times within the first 10 minutes of his speech. Trump spoke about the auto industry, praising workers at General Motors saying: "there's no finer group of people."
The president said in part: "We're building more auto factories and more plants than in any time in the history of our country."
Trump ripped into former President Joe Biden during his remarks, as well as United Auto Workers (UAW) president Shawn Fain, calling him "bad news."
"I've done more for you than your parents," Trump said to the auto industry crowd, noting: "They would agree."
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The protester's remarks seemingly reflect the political controversy surrounding the administration's handling of records related to Epstein, the well-connected financier who died by suicide in jail in 2019 while awaiting further charges.
The disruption also followed an earlier confrontation this year during Trump's visit to Ford's Rouge Complex in Dearborn, Michigan, where a worker reportedly shouted the same accusation as the president toured the facility.
Previous video that circulated online appeared to show Trump responding with an obscene hand gesture before moving on with the event.
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Trump Stops in Key Battleground Ahead of Midterms
Trump's remarks in Michigan come as the battleground state remains a major political focus ahead of this year's midterm elections.
Trump narrowly flipped Michigan in the 2024 presidential election after it voted for Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris' Democratic ticket in the 2020 election. The state is also home to one of the country's most closely watched Senate races, with both parties expected to invest heavily as they compete for a seat that could help determine control of the chamber in which the GOP has a slight majority.
The Cook Political Report has rated the Senate race a "toss up" saying: "as the Democratic establishment wrings its hands over progressives’ recent ascendance, the Michigan Senate primary in August will be perhaps the most consequential test of the movement’s strength — and one happening not in a safe Democratic area but in a critical swing state."
The race has an August 4 primary set where Democratic candidates, Representative Haley Stevens and former public health official Abdul El-Sayed, are locked in a race that has become a potential bellwether for the party between establishment and progressive candidates. Trump has endorsed the Republican in that race, former Representative Mike Rogers.
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Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Samantha Beech and Sam Wilson.
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