Ford Worker Speaks Out After Suspension For Calling Trump A 'Pedophile Protector' To His Face

The Ford employee who was suspended after Donald Trump appeared to flip him off has now spoken publicly about the moment. He says he has no regrets and believes he simply took advantage of an unexpected opportunity.

There is rarely a quiet moment when the US president makes public appearances, but during Trump’s visit to a Ford plant in Michigan, the situation escalated fast. The president likely did not expect to be confronted by someone openly voicing their criticism right to his face.

Video of the exchange shows Trump reacting by appearing to mouth the words ‘f--k you’ before raising his middle finger, a gesture that quickly spread across social media and news outlets.

A video obtained by TMZ captures the moment just before Trump’s reaction, showing someone shouting toward him as he walked through the plant. The exact words are not fully clear in the footage.

According to TMZ, and later reporting by Fox, the person was identified as 40-year-old TJ Sabula. He was allegedly calling Trump a ‘pedophile protector,’ a reference many believe was tied to criticism over delays in releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files.

While the Justice Department later released thousands of documents related to the Epstein case, many sections were heavily redacted. The level of secrecy even led former president Bill Clinton, who is mentioned in the files, to call for everything to be released in the name of transparency.

Donald Trump was touring Ford when he was heckled Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty Images

After the clip circulated online, Ford’s Executive Director of Corporate Communications, David Tovar, addressed the situation in a statement to CNN, saying: "We had a great event today and we're proud of how our employees represented Ford."

"We've seen the clip you're referring to. 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."

That internal process ultimately resulted in Sabula being suspended. But if anyone expected him to walk back his comments or express regret, that was not the case.

Sabula told The Washington Post that he stands by what he said, adding: "As far as calling him out, definitely no regrets whatsoever."

He explained that he was standing about 60 feet away from the president at the time. According to him, that distance was close enough for Trump to hear him “very, very, very clearly.”

Sabula also claimed he was targeted for what he described as political retribution. He said he believes he was fired for embarrassing Trump in front of others during the visit.

"I don't feel as though fate looks upon you often, and when it does, you better be ready to seize the opportunity," he said. "And today I think I did that."

On Reddit, many users weighed in on the situation. One commenter praised Sabula’s actions, writing: "Losing a job is a small price to pay to earn the honor of being flipped off by the worst president America ever had."

TJ Sabula called Trump out and was later fired Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

"That guy's gonna be telling this story to his grandkids."

Another user pointed out that Sabula has since set up a GoFundMe page to help cover his expenses while he is out of work.

Public reaction to Trump’s gesture has been split, with some criticizing the president and others defending him.

The debate continued after the White House issued its own response.

"A lunatic was wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage, and the President gave an appropriate and unambiguous response," White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said in a statement.

And with that, the White House signaled it considered the matter closed.