Journalist Recalls Trump Assassination Attempt in Explosive New Book

Salena Zito had a choice. Hit the ground or do her job. When bullets started flying at President Donald Trump during his campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania last summer, the veteran political journalist didn’t flinch.

“I didn’t get down,” Zito says in her gripping new book, Butler: The Untold Story of the Near Assassination of Donald Trump and the Fight for America’s Heartland, released Tuesday. “There was this voice in my head that said, ‘You have a job to do—keep doing it.’”

What followed was one of the most harrowing and unforgettable moments in modern American political history.

Zito, a seasoned reporter for the Washington Examiner and longtime voice of America’s heartland, was standing near the stage with her daughter and son-in-law as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on Trump. She had secured access to the “buffer zone,” just feet from the president. When the chaos erupted, it was a young campaign aide—Michel Picard—who tackled Zito and shielded her with his body.

“He didn’t have to do that,” she said. “He covered me and my daughter without hesitation. That’s courage you never forget.”

Even from the ground, Zito kept her phone recording, capturing every second. “Trump was shouting, ‘USA!’ from the ground. The crowd was chanting. Then he stood up, raised his fist, and yelled, ‘Fight! Fight! Fight!’ I saw a side of him that day that was pure grit.”

The would-be assassin’s bullet nicked Trump’s ear—a stroke of luck that might’ve been divine. Trump had turned to face an immigration chart when the shot came. One man wasn’t so lucky.

Firefighter Corey Comperatore, attending with his family, was killed shielding his wife and daughters. Two others were seriously injured. Comperatore’s heroism has become a rallying cry for many Americans.

Trump later returned to Butler to finish the rally and personally honor the fallen hero’s family.

Zito reveals that in the 24 hours after the shooting, Trump called her seven times.

“He wanted to make sure I was OK,” she said. “That’s not the side people always see. But it’s real.”

Zito had been scheduled to interview Trump that day, but the time kept shifting—a common campaign reality. She planned to fly with him to Bedminster, New Jersey, afterward. Instead, she witnessed history.

“This book isn’t just about bullets and bravery,” Zito explained. “It’s about the heart of America—why places like Butler matter, and why so many journalists and politicians still don’t get it.”

Zito argues that both parties often miss what drives small-town America: community, tradition, and faith in something greater. In her eyes, the rally and the aftermath weren’t just political—they were spiritual.

“This isn’t just Trump’s story,” she said. “It’s America’s.”