Ford has suspended a 40-year-old factory worker who shouted “pedophile protector” at Donald Trump during a presidential visit to the company’s Detroit plant—but the worker says he has “definitely no regrets whatsoever.”
TJ Sabula heckled Trump from about 60 feet away during Tuesday’s tour of the Ford River Rouge Complex in Dearborn, Michigan. Trump’s response? The President of the United States pointed at the worker, yelled “F— you!” twice, and flipped him off. Presidential.
THE DETAILS: Sabula told The Washington Post that Trump could hear him “very, very, very clearly” and confirmed his insult was a direct reference to Trump’s handling of the Epstein files.
The worker, who describes himself as a political independent who has never voted for Trump (but has supported other Republican candidates), has now been suspended pending an investigation.
“I don’t feel as though fate looks upon you often, and when it does, you better be ready to seize the opportunity,” Sabula said. “And today I think I did that.”
He also believes he’s been “targeted for political retribution” for “embarrassing Trump in front of his friends.”
OF COURSE: Ford played cleanup duty, telling The Daily Beast that “we had a great event today” and that they’re “proud of how our employees represented Ford.” The company added that “respect” is a “core value” and they “don’t condone anyone saying anything inappropriate” within their facilities.
Meanwhile, White House troll Steven Cheung called Sabula “a lunatic” who was “wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage” and said Trump gave “an appropriate and unambiguous response.” (The president flipping off a constituent is now apparently “appropriate.”)
WHY IT MATTERS: Sabula’s outburst highlights the fact that Trump’s decades-long friendship with convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein—and his administration’s handling of the Epstein files—remains a live political issue that won’t go away.
Trump campaigned on releasing the Epstein files. Then he got elected and suddenly pushed back on making them public. Former ally Marjorie Taylor Greene has claimed that after she repeatedly pushed for the files’ release, Trump told her directly: “My friends will get hurt.” (Trump has since cut ties with Greene.)
Even rogue Republican Thomas Massie has accused members of his own party of “covering for pedophiles” and threatened Attorney General Pam Bondi with contempt of Congress over missed deadlines.
According to recent DOJ court filings, over 2 million Epstein-related files remain unreleased and are in “various phases of review.” So far, the department has released around 12,285 documents—many heavily redacted.
BOTTOM LINE: A factory worker got suspended for calling out the president’s connection to a dead pedophile. The president responded by screaming profanities and throwing up his middle finger. And over 2 million documents about that pedophile’s crimes are still collecting dust somewhere in the Justice Department. Cool, cool, cool.