The Ford worker who heckled 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 on Monday.
TJ Sabula, 40, shouted at Trump that he was a “pedophile protector” as the president was touring the Ford River Rouge complex in Dearborn.
The president responded by mouthing the words “f— you” twice and giving the middle finger, according to video of the incident.
Trump’s Justice Department continues to face scrutiny from Republicans and Democrats for its delay in the release of additional documents related to the investigations into deceased sex predator Jeffrey Epstein, after a bipartisan law required the full release of the documents by Dec. 19.
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The president also told Sabula during the exchange that he would be fired, UAW Vice President Laura Dickerson said on Monday at a political conference in Washington, according to Reuters.
“This ain’t ‘The Apprentice’,” she said at the conference, referring to the reality show Trump hosted in which he would abruptly dismiss contestants for underperforming in the competition.
Dickerson said Sabula still has his job and “has no discipline on his record,” stressing that the union supports his right to free speech.
“There was a worker at that plant that day who famously told Mr. Trump exactly what he thought of him,” Dickerson said. “Unfortunately, in that moment, we saw what 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.
Sabula said shortly after the exchange with the president that he had “no regrets whatsoever.”
“As far as calling him out, definitely no regrets whatsoever,” Sabula told The Washington Post at the time. He estimated that he was standing roughly 60 feet away from Trump and said the president could hear him “very, very, very clearly.”
He also said he believes he was “targeted for political retribution” for “embarrassing Trump in front of his friends.”
“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.”
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Sabula described himself 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 arguing that Trump gave an “appropriate” response to the autoworker.
“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 last month.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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