Trump Says It’s Actually ‘A Good Thing’ Ford Can’t Hire Enough Workers: ‘You’re Gonna Have a Thing Called Robots’

President Donald Trump argued on Tuesday it is “a good thing” that Ford could not hire enough workers because they would soon “have a thing called robots.”

“The CEO of Ford said not long ago he’s got 5,000 open mechanic jobs,” said CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil during an interview with Trump at a Ford plant in Detroit. “He can’t find people willing and able–”

The president interrupted:

I know, but that’s a good thing, Tony. That means it’s vibrant. You could also have things where you have so many people and they can’t get jobs. It’s true, we are doing so well it’s hard. Now what’s going to happen is people are being trained rapidly and you’re gonna have a thing called robots, and robots are gonna be a big factor. I predict that robots are gonna be a big factor in the future and it’s gonna help out.

But you have a situation now where our economy is doing so well that it’s not that easy to get people. We’re training people, they’re training people, companies are training people, and they’re doing well. You know, that’s a positive question you asked me. I don’t think you asked it in that way, but we are doing so well right now that we’re training people to take those jobs.

During his visit to the plant on Tuesday, Trump flipped off a Ford worker and said “f*ck you” after the employee called him a “pedophile protector.”

In a statement to CBS News following the incident, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung defended Trump’s response, saying, “A lunatic was wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage, and the President gave an appropriate and unambiguous response.”

Watch above via CBS News.