A panel of economic experts considers energy prices and how President Donald Trump can strengthen his economic agenda on ‘Kudlow’.
The Ford worker who harassed President Donald Trump during his visit last month to a Michigan auto plant was not disciplined and kept his job, the United Auto Workers union said Monday.
TJ Sabula, 40, yelled at Trump for being a “pedophile protector” as the president toured the Ford River Rouge complex in Dearborn.
The president responded by saying the words “f— you” twice and raising the middle finger, according to video of the incident.
Trump’s Justice Department continues to come under scrutiny from Republicans and Democrats over its delay in releasing additional documents related to the investigation into deceased sex predator Jeffrey Epstein, following a bipartisan law required the full release of the documents by December 19.
FORD EMPLOYEE SUSPENDED FOR CALLING TRUMP ‘PEDOPHIL PROTECTOR’ HAS ‘NO REGRETS’ FOR ‘EASY’ PRESIDENT
President Donald Trump recognizes employees during a tour of the Ford River Rouge plant in Dearborn, Michigan. (The White House via X)
The president also told Sabula during the exchange that he would be fired, UAW Vice President Laura Dickerson said at a political conference in Washington on Monday, according to Reuters.
“This is not ‘The Apprentice,’” she said at the conference, referring to the reality show Trump hosted, in which he abruptly fired contestants for underperforming in the competition.
Dickerson said Sabula still has his job and “has no discipline on his record,” and emphasized that the union supports his right to freedom of expression.
“There was a worker in that factory that day who famously told Mr. Trump exactly what he thought of him,” Dickerson said. “Unfortunately, at that moment we saw how the current president really thinks about working people and the way he responded – he gave us the middle finger.”
Ford’s executive chairman Bill Ford said after the factory tour with Trump that the incident was unfortunate and that he was embarrassed by it.
President Donald Trump walks with Ford River Rouge Plant Manager Corey Williams (right), Ford Motor Company Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. (left) and Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Farley (second from right). (Getty Images / Getty Images)
Sabula said shortly after the conversation with the president that he had “no regrets whatsoever.”
“As far as calling him out, absolutely no regrets,” Sabula told The Washington Post at the time. He estimated he was standing about 60 feet away from Trump and said the president could hear him “very, very, very clearly.”
He also said he believes he was “the target of political retaliation” for “embarrassing Trump in front of his friends.”
“I don’t feel like fate strikes you very often, and when it does, you better be ready to take the opportunity,” he said. “And today I think I did that.”
President Donald Trump speaks with Ford Chairman Bill Ford (second from left) and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (left) as he tours Ford Motor Company’s River Rouge complex in Dearborn, Michigan. (Getty Images / Getty Images)
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Sabula described herself at the time as a political independent who had never voted for Trump but had supported other Republican candidates.
The White House responded to the exchange by stating that Trump gave an “appropriate” response to the autoworker.
“A madman shouted wild expletives in a full-blown fit of rage, and the president gave an appropriate and unequivocal response,” White House communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement last month.
Reuters contributed to this report.
