Overview
- The exchange was captured on a TMZ video showing the president raising his middle finger and mouthing an expletive after a worker shouted “pedophile protector.”
- White House communications director Steven Cheung confirmed the video’s authenticity and called the president’s response appropriate to a heckler.
- The worker was identified as TJ Sabula, 40, who told The Washington Post he was suspended while Ford reviews the incident, as the company reiterated its policies on respectful conduct.
- A GoFundMe set up to support Sabula rapidly drew hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions, surpassing $400,000 within about a day.
- The confrontation referenced the controversy over the limited public release of Jeffrey Epstein–related records, and it unfolded during Trump’s tour of Ford’s Dearborn plant before his Detroit Economic Club appearance.