Thomas “TJ” Sabula

As Catherine and John Titus have observed on multiple occasions on Money & Markets, President Trump continues to be dogged by the stain of the Epstein scandal, which is “not going to go away.”

During the president’s January 13 tour of a Ford truck plant in Dearborn, Michigan, 40-year-old United Auto Workers (UAW) member Thomas “TJ” Sabula let Trump know what he thought of the president’s attempts to suppress the Epstein Files, shouting out that the commander-in-chief is a “pedophile protector.” He later acknowledged that this amounted to “embarrassing Trump in front of his friends.”

Reflecting the coarse tenor of the times, the White House communications director described the president’s angry reaction—which included yelling “F*** you” multiple times and flipping Sabula off—as “an appropriate and unambiguous response.” In contrast, the UAW director of the Ford Department criticized the president’s “vulgar” language and behavior, evoking freedom of speech and saying that the UAW would stand with its membership “in protecting their voice on the job.”

Meanwhile, after Ford Motor Co. suspended Sabula pending internal investigation, friends launched two separate GoFundMe fundraisers in support of the worker and his family. As an indicator of public sentiment regarding the Epstein Files, nearly 35,000 donors rapidly weighed in with contributions averaging $23, donating over $800,000. Acknowledging the “overwhelming public support,” the grateful Sabula then requested that people stop sending money and turn their attention to other deserving causes.

As one of the GoFundMe donors accurately summed up, “You caused Trump to bring the Epstein Files back to the forefront despite all his efforts and distractions to bury these crimes once again.”