Two GoFundMe Campaigns Raise $800k for Ford Worker Suspended After Confrontation with Trump

Two GoFundMe campaigns have raised $800,000 for TJ Sabula, the Ford worker suspended after calling Pres. Donald Trump during his tour of a suburban Detroit Ford factory. His union has also stepped in to save the worker’s job. More from Headlight.News.

While TJ Sabula’s job is on the line, the Ford worker now has something to fall back on after being suspended following a confrontation with Donald Trump during the president’s tour of a Ford plant in suburban Detroit on Tuesday.

A pair of GoFundMe campaigns have now been put on hold after about 35,000 ponied up more than $800,000 to support the father of two over the last two days.

Sabula was suspended by the automaker after shouting, “Pedophile Protecter” at Trump as the president passed his workstation. The comment referenced Trump’s friendship with convicted child molester Jeffrey Epstein – and the Trump administration’s failure to follow a Congressional demand for release of the so-called “Epstein files.”

“You’re fired”

Trump came to the Motor City Tuesday to deliver a speech to the Detroit Economic Club and to take a tour of the Ford River Rouge Complex in the suburb of Dearborn, accompanied by the automaker’s Chairman Bill Ford Jr., and CEO Jim Farley.

But the tour took on a decidedly different tone when Trump approached Sabula’s station. The worker accused Trump of being a “pedophile protector,” a theme that has frequently been sounded in recent months due to links to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Congress recently ordered the turnover of documents collectively known as the “Epstein files,” but the U.S. Justice Department has so far failed to release all but a small number of heavily redacted records.

Trump stormed off after the confrontation but shouted out. “Fuck you,” twice at Sabula, then used the signature line, “You’re fired,” from his old TV show, “The Apprentice.” He also gave the worker the middle finger.”

“An appropriate and unambiguous response”

Neither Trump nor Sabula appear to regret their actions. In a statement, the White House described what happened as, “A lunatic…wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage.” Communications Director Steven Cheung added his opinion that what the president did was “an appropriate and unambiguous response.”

For his part, Sabula told the Washington Post that he had “No regrets” for what he said to the president. But he did say he is concerned about now “targeted for political retribution” and the possibility he will be fired for “embarrassing Trump in front of his friends.”

The confrontation, as should be predictable these days, generated wildly differing opinions, especially on social media. While some posts praised Trump, others called out the use of street-level profanity by the man routinely described as “the leader of the Free World.” During an appearance at the Detroit Auto Show on Wednesday, former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said, “What I know is that President Trump did literally what I believe he’s been doing figuratively for some time, which is give auto workers the finger.”

More Auto News

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• Ford CEO Says Sedans Could Make Comeback in Bid to Improve Affordability
• These are the Three Winners of North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year

Job at risk

While Trump has clearly moved on from the incident, the future is far from certain for Sabula. The confrontation was described as “unfortunate” by the automaker’s chairman who told Headlight.News he was “embarrassed” by it.

Ford Executive Director of Communications David Tovar subsequently stated that, “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.”

The United Auto Workers Union has stepped in to contest Sabula’s suspension and possible firing. Calling out the “vulgar language” used by the president during the incident, a statement from the union defended the worker’s free speech and said it will work to “ensure that our member receives the full protection of all negotiated contract language safeguarding his job and his rights as a union member.”

A GoFundMe safety net

For Sabula, there is literally a silver lining in his current dark cloud. As of Thursday morning, two separate GoFundMe campaigns have raised about $800,000 from around 35,000 donors.

A comment on one of the campaigns, posted Wednesday night by someone identifying himself as Sabula, said, “We greatly appreciate the outpouring of support! At this time we are closing donations to this campaign and encourage you to look for other causes and organizations to support. We appreciate every single donation, comment, share, and sign of support!”

The other GoFundMe campaign can be reached here.