Suspended Ford worker who heckled Trump spurs over $800K in GoFundMe donations
WASHINGTON, DC: A Ford worker who heckled Donald Trump during a visit to a plant in Michigan has suddenly found himself in the spotlight, and flush with cash.
After Ford suspended him, supporters stepped in and raised more than $800,000 for him on GoFundMe.
The donations, totaling over $800,000 in less than 24 hours, came after the Ford line worker, TJ Sabula, said he heckled Trump during the president’s visit to his workplace.
Ford worker heckles Trump during Michigan plant visit
Trump stopped by a Michigan plant on Tuesday, where Ford rolls out its top-selling F-150 pickup.
The purpose of the visit was to highlight the White House’s push to rebuild American jobs and to back Ford’s efforts to bring more blue-collar workers into the fold. During the event, someone yelled ‘p*******e protector’.
Sabula later said that was him, explaining that he was calling out the White House for dragging its feet on releasing the full Epstein files. Video from TMZ captured Trump’s reaction.
🚨#BREAKING: Watch as President Donald Trump raises his middle finger and appears to mouth f*ck you following a shout of your a p*dophile protector from a Ford worker in the plant pic.twitter.com/uZQ0k3cnkX
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) January 13, 2026
The president can be seen raising his middle finger after the remark and mouthing an expletive. The White House told several news outlets that Trump was appropriately responding to "a lunatic" who "was wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage."
GoFundMe campaign draws large sum
By Wednesday night, two GoFundMe campaigns for Sabula had already pulled in more than $480,000 and $329,000 before organizers paused donations and posted a note.
"TJ and his family 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," read an update on both campaigns. "We appreciate every single donation, comment, share, and sign of support!"
"TJ Sabula is a patriot," said one of the GoFundMe campaigns, which more than 21,000 people donated to. Both campaigns name Thomas Sabula as the official beneficiary.
"Let's rally and support TJ and help him pay some bills (and force DJT to release the Trump/Epstein Files)," the post continued.
The White House is responding to the TMZ video of Trump flipping someone off at the Ford plant today, saying in a statement to @Sam_Waldenberg, "A lunatic was wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage, and the President gave an appropriate and unambiguous response.”…
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) January 13, 2026
A source at the United Auto Workers (UAW), the union that represents the Ford plant, confirmed to Business Insider that Sabula was suspended.
"The autoworker at the Dearborn Truck Plant is a proud member of a strong and fighting union, the UAW," Laura Dickerson, the vice president of the United Auto Workers (UAW), told Business Insider in an email.
Dickerson said the UAW is reviewing Sabula's suspension. "Workers should never be subjected to vulgar language or behavior by anyone, including the President of the United States," she added.
Sabula told the Post that he has "no regrets whatsoever." "I don't feel as though fate looks upon you often, and when it does, you better be ready to seize the opportunity," he added.
