Butler: The Untold Story of the Near Assassination of Donald Trump and the Fight for America's Heartland

by Salena Zito

THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
USA TODAY AND PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BESTSELLER

"Salena Zito…. She understands you people and me better than we do.” -- President Donald J. Trump

“You're going to learn things in this book. Beautifully written. Story after story after story." -- Mark Levin​

From the acclaimed journalist standing only a few feet away from the stage when the gunshots began is this gripping first-hand account of the near assassination of Donald Trump – and the inside story of Trump’s heartland-fueled victory.  That day in Butler, had the wind gusted less, had Trump’s head turned in a slightly different direction, or had the adrenaline-fueled heart of the shooter beat slower, America would have been plunged into chaos, possibly even civil war. As a local reporter with deep ties to the area, Salena Zito had been invited by the president to interview him at the Butler Farm Show Grounds. She was standing only four feet away from the presidential podium when the bullets started to fly. A campaign staffer tackled her to the ground. Throughout it all, Salena never stopped reporting. She spoke by phone to Trump several times in the immediate aftermath and was granted access to community members, rally participants, family members and local law enforcement officials. “I rarely look away from the crowd,” Trump told her in one of several of those conversations. “Had I not done that in that moment, well, we would not be talking today, would we?” Known for her on-the-ground reporting on populism and rural America, Salena zooms out to tell the fascinating story of the battle for America’s heartland and the issues that actually motivate voters. To understand how and why Trump won the 2024 election, you have to understand places like Butler. Big cities like Los Angeles, New York and D.C. don’t decide who wins election cycles, but people in places like Butler, Pennsylvania sure do. President Trump gave the author extraordinary access for this book, including to his top aides, to his running mate JD Vance, to billionaire supporter Elon Musk, and even his security detail. 

There are moments that define America. The late afternoon hours of July 13, 2024 was one of them. This book is a narrative of that fateful day, the people of the heartland and the untold story of how the president found his way back into the heart of the electorate.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, History, American History, Audiobook, Crime, Current Affairs

238 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 8, 2025

Reviews

[Not Here Anymore · Rating 1 out of 5]

Zito, a conservative Christian “journalist”, (though, to be honest, “propagandist”, is far more accurate), was present during the assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. And now she has written a book which tells us nothing new and only exists to treat Trump as a divinely-saved good Christian.

The book is just propaganda. That is it. If you love Trump and believe he had a mastermind plan that united the entire world under his pre-destined banner then you'll love it. If you are anyone else this is dogshit. Do I think books with clear biases deserve to exist? Absolutely. This book has every right to exist. But I also have a right to say I read it, and it’s shit.

It treats Trump as a messianic figure spared by God and Salena Zito as one of the Apostles who was blessed to witness him and speak to him and gobble up every piece of nonsense he spoke to her. If you think Trump gives a damn about Butler aside from what it did for his campaign you are a fool. Even now the families of the victims are asking Trump to speak on it or give answers.

This book gives nothing new, no groundbreaking new information or details, it is solely a reassurance to the assumed reader, a Trump supporter, that they are indeed so right in supporting him! It is a pacifier. A sweet reassurance. "Everything is alright. Trump is amazing. Go back to sleep. Shh... It's OK."

It has nothing more to offer.

And of course it follows the well-worn path of the right wing: blame the left. You see it was all the left's fault! Like it always is! And frankly it is outrageous that the right can still claim the left are the aggressors when it is this right wing administration that has made its own Gestapo destroying families and innocents, with the head of ICE literally saying someone being brown is enough to detain them, with a president that constantly threatens American citizens and politicians.

However Zito's claim that Democrat politicians are disconnected right now and royally messed up 2024 is true. I think any person on the left understands that. So it is super funny for me the people saying, "Democrat Voters should read this", nah, we get it. Our leadership sucks, we're trying to fix that. And frankly I'm far enough left that I find Democrats the lesser of two evils but still far better than the cretin Donald fucking Trump. Also the book outright lies claiming Trump had very high approval ratings in voter-polling when compared to Kamala Harris? As well as high ratings during his presidency? To be fair the Trump administration lies against the facts of reality all the time too so I guess Zito is just following the herd. By the way anyone liking this book wanna question the Epstein Files? Or is Trump a perfect angel in those too?

Frankly if even the description of the book makes you think this book is anything but nonsense you are already brainwashed. This barely even touches on the assassination attempt, it is more focused on Jesus Trump's divine providence and Zito's proselytizing. This book genuinely unnerved me because of how much it reads like a cult-member's rambling. If you are a Christian and you think Trump is a Christian I recommend you pay more attention to both the news and your holy book. (I mean The Bible as your holy book, not this or The Art of the Deal.)

If you want a good book about an attempted assassination read "Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder" by Salman Rushdie. Though if you are a Trump supporter Salman's name may have already scared you off since it sounds vaguely Arabic. He was raised a Kashmiri Muslim. (That probably scares you off more.) But now he is an Atheist. (That probably scared you off for good.)

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This wasn’t the book I expected it to be, but it was still a most interesting read that any Trump fan or student of political science should enjoy and/or learn from. When I first saw the title and preordered the book a few months ago, I naively thought it would be an exploration of the assassination attempt itself, with information on Crooks, Secret Service incompetence, etc. The author was in Butler and talks about her experience on July 13, but this book provides little if any insights as to how and why the assassination attempt happened. Instead, as the subtitle does suggest, this book provides us with Zito’s insight into how and why Trump appealed to and won over the voters of the Rust Belt (and the country), men and women like the ones who came to Butler to see Trump in person. Zito is from that area, and she knows the people – their history, their values, and their struggles over the past couple of decades as they watched their jobs shipped out to China and saw their community institutions and economies crumble due to dumb political decisions in Washington. She also understands her fellow journalists and explains how they operate with their own big-city, progressive blinders that keeps them from understanding the regular men and women of America. It’s a combination of both bias and willful ignorance that helps explain how the talking heads in the media continue to get things so wrong all of the time. I honestly hope that few Democrats read this book because Zito does such a great job of explaining many of the things they did wrong in the 2024 election. She explains why the average American is moving farther right and how Democrats fail so badly at connecting with the common man.

So, while I did not learn anything new about the assassination attempt itself, I did develop a new perspective on the failings of the news media, the continuing inability of Democrats to connect with the heartland and the average voter, and the brilliant campaign strategy that helped propel President Trump back to the White House.

[L.A. Starks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has already hit the NY Times #1 bestseller list. Zito is an experienced, Pennsylvania-focused journalist. What makes the book so compelling is Zito was there at Trump's Butler speech listening to him, readying for a post-event interview with Trump, and thus in place reporting on the event at the time of the attempted assassination. She has the insider's view no one else has, including the fact that Trump called her several times that day as he himself was trying to process what had happened.

Highly, highly recommended for readers who want a ringside seat at one of the most critical days in American history.

[Nolan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’d never suggest starting a book with its final chapter and afterword, but with Selina Zito’s Butler, it’s tempting. You could jump to the end to feel its gut-punch impact, then circle back to the start and read through. It’s an unconventional idea, and probably nobody’ll take me up on it, but that last chapter and afterword make this thought-provoking book stand out. That final section dives deep into the collapse of American media, seen through the eyes of an old-school reporter.

Zito skips spreadsheets and data dives, hitting the dirt roads of her state to talk to real people in their towns. Her old-school journalism meant she nailed the 2016 election outcome while pundits and number-crunchers missed the mark. A devout Catholic, Zito’s faith shapes her empathy and moral lens, giving her a deep respect for people’s values and a community-focused compassion that shines in her church visits or talks about faith with Trump, all without preaching; she’s just as comfortable in a church as she is at a bar watching political debates, listening without judgment to folks making clear-eyed voting choices—choices the elitist media can’t grasp because they’re too busy staring at their phones to notice working-class people striving for resilience and adding value to their lives through simple acts like loving their families. She travels rural roads, chats with factory workers, farmers, and small-town voters, listening with an open mind and no agenda. Her vivid, straightforward writing weaves personal anecdotes with big-picture insights, reflecting her Catholic-rooted empathy without losing objectivity. Her pursuit of facts—whether she likes them or not—outshines today’s journalists who parrot propaganda-soaked press releases.

Zito nails how a sense of place and roots escapes bi-coastal elites tasked with telling America’s political story. You can’t write her off as some right-wing hack. She’s a reporter with scores of mainstream media friends, and she’s not inclined to partisan anti-media rants. The loss of trust in traditional outlets saddens her, but she understands why it happened and strives to keep her own writing free from the biases and disconnects that caused it, chronicling the death of old media and the rise of a new, diverse American coalition with her unflinching style. She sets this against the backdrop of the underreported but pivotal July 13, 2024, assassination attempt on then-candidate Donald Trump.

If you read Butler, you’ll learn Trump wasn’t the only famous American nearly killed there. Zito’s gripping introduction recounts a young George Washington dodging an assassin’s bullet at the start of the French and Indian War. Fast-forward to the now-infamous rally where Zito, close to the former president, tells a heart-wrenching story of a firefighter who shielded his family from bullets, saving them but losing his life. She writes of the next day, when she and Trump spoke over seven times, processing how God spared him. Zito believes those moments reshaped Trump’s relationship with faith.

You’ll read about those gut-wrenching seconds when she, like the presidential candidate, was on the ground. She writes with immediacy about his rise from the ground, and the now-iconic fist in the air with the verbal encouragement to his followers, “fight, fight, fight.” She provides gripping writing of those few seconds, and notes the civil, calm demeanor of the crowd as it filed out of the rally.

Naturally, she paid tribute to Corey Comperatore, the firefighter who lost his life that night. Her tribute was thoughtful and appropriate.

She includes the transcript of Trump’s electrifying Republican National Convention speech from Milwaukee, likely for its tie to the Butler story. The book would’ve been just as poignant without it. Zito embodies old-school journalism, favoring legwork over activist rants. I admire her writing talent and fearless chase for truth. This book overflows with heart, especially in humanizing moments where Zito’s down-to-earth empathy, shaped by her Catholic faith and Western Pennsylvania roots, shines as she and Trump swap stories of family pride and joy over their grandchildren, grounding the heavier themes in relatable humanity. I tore through the audiobook at 2.65x, and while the narrator did okay, I wish Zito herself had narrated to bring her warmth to the audiobook. Though I read it quickly, I’ll be mulling over its message and impact for a long time.

[Mary Lou · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Butler" talks about the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, of course, but what it's really about are the pivotal events of the 2024 presidential campaigns, and why Trump won - still a mystery to many in what Zito calls the "super zip codes" like DC, NY, and LA. But there's no big secret and the simple answer is right here, easily accessible to any journalist or politico who bothers to look.

Zito, hailing from western PA herself, has chosen to live in and cover real America, and not immerse herself in the coastal echo chambers as so many of her colleagues have. She - and this is crucial, folks - observes and talks to "real" people rather than reporting only what she reads on X or what the party apparatchiks are doling out. Imagine.

Her pithy, easy-to-read summary of the Trump and the Biden/Harris campaigns clearly shows when, how, and most importantly, WHY things went off the rails for the Democrats in 2024. If the party leadership is smart, they'd study Butler and change their ways before the midterms. Rather, they choose to stay isolated in their cities, never getting to know, or wanting to know, their fellow countrymen.

[Dr. Steve Pollock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most perceptive and honest book I have read in years. Brings honor to hard-working people, like my family, who long for leadership missing from elites more focused on their own status than in solving problems. Mrs. Zito is my new hero and a great writer. She gets us, the everyday people who love family, place, and community. Thank God Trump survived Butler and won the race.

[Debbi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book turned out to be very different than I originally thought it would be but I liked it so much more. It is a perfect companion to "Hillbilly Elegy" by Vance. Zito understands middle America like no other journalist today because she wasn't educated at an Ivy League college and she doesn't want to hobnob with the rich and famous. She isn't looking down her nose at working class Americans but instead, she is part of the fabric that makes our country great. Raised and living not far from Butler itself, this book is not just a recounting of the events that put Butler on the map for the rest of America, it is also tribute to the people who come from that area. People who feel forgotten and left behind by the Coastal Elites and, as a result, they let their voices be heard loud and clear in the 2024 elections. I highly recommend this book if you want to understand why so many Democrats and left-leaning Americans voted for someone as despised and maligned as Trump because clearly legacy media missed this story completely.

[Thomas James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read in One Day

If this is the Dem party I want no part of it. The whole Harris campaign was a fake. The people want a REAL President not a FAKE President. This book scared me to death. The parties have changed their focus. The Republicans represent every-day people and Democrats represent the elite.

[Teri Voss · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sad ending..

[Gerri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and insightful read. Much more to the book than I had imagined. I had lived in western PA a number of years. This gets to the heart of western PA communities as well as many communities across the country. It’s unfortunate the national media is so ignorant about anywhere outside NYC, DC, or LA. Her knowledge of the area and research were outstanding. I only wish there were more journalists these days looking for facts and asking questions, and offering insight and information. It’s too bad most reporters these days can’t set aside their politics and vitriol, and opinions and do their jobs. Selena Zito is a journalist in the best sense of the word.

[Sherrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a great book. I learned some new stuff. I didn’t know that Trump was having JD Vance go to Butler Pennsylvania with him. He was planning on announcing Vance as his VP pick. But at the last minute Trump changed his mind and wanted to wait before announcing his VP pick. Had Vance gone it would have given the shooter the opportunity to take both Trump and Vance out. So many angels were protecting Trump that day.

[Thomas George Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ms. Zito is a well respected political reporter who has many years in the field covering politicians from both parties; her account of the day President Trump was shot in Butler was an informative read.

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

must read if you want to understand news coverage and elections

Beautifully written and insightful in understanding how grass roots politics played an important role and won in our election cycle. Must read if you want to understand the influence mainstream media attempts to have.

[Amanda McLaughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Butler by Salena Zito is a powerful and timely reflection of what the 2024 election truly felt like for middle America. Listening to the audiobook, I felt seen in a way that mainstream media has consistently missed. Zito gives voice to the voters who were watching events unfold with a very different lens—one shaped by lived experience rather than curated headlines.

This isn’t a book about Trump; it’s a book about Americans. It offers crucial insight into why so many voters began moving to the right—or at least away from the modern left—and how the political center has shifted as a result. Butler sheds light on the growing disconnect between legacy media and everyday people, and it helps explain the deepening mistrust many of us feel.

If you’re trying to make sense of how our elections have changed and why the political landscape feels so fractured, this is the book to read. Thoughtful, honest, and eye-opening.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a memoir--a slice of Ziti's life as a journalist. This is "a moment in the life" of an experienced, talented, old-fashioned journalist. Ziti is a journalist who investigates, speaks to people face-to-face, and thinks before she writes. Being in Butler, in the front row when Trump was shot, gives her an interesting perspective on the event. That's why she felt compelled to write her story...yes, it's HER story of HER experience of HER time covering this historic event. Ziti's words create a poignant narrative of the events on and around that fateful day in 2024.

[Eugenio Erquiaga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Grounded Read

Ms. Zito focuses on "place" as determining factor in many people's lives. She herself is very grounded in family, faith and place. She brings a genuine viewpoint to the attempted assassination of President Trump and the implications for his supporters and the nation. She has a keen understanding of the history of her state and is clearly in touch with its people. Her book is a great read about what is likely a pivotal event in US history.

[Rob Pruden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fittingly enough tomorrow marks the 1 year anniversary of the Butler assassination attempt on Trump's life and I finished this wonderful book today. I had read Ms. Zito's prior book on Trump's 2016 victory so I was familiar with her and I must say that I love her approach to journalism; that being talking to the "little people" that make this country work every day. By focusing on their thoughts, feelings, and needs she understands things that most media and politicians are clueless about. She gives a wonderful insight into the humanity of Trump that is largely hidden from the public and for that I am grateful. The most stunning to me reveal in this book is the appearance of the Harris-Walz campaign almost intentionally trying to lose. Who announces an appearance in Pittsburgh and then refuses too identify the location and at the last minute makes it "invitation only". How is that communication with the electorate?

[James H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zito Nails it!

Salena Zito is by far the best journalist out there covering the reality of today’s changing political environment. Her focus on real people and not Washington insiders and the national media operating in their echo chamber, is refreshing and spot on. Her earlier book coauthored with Brad Todd is recognized as a highly accurate portrayal of the shift in the political landscape and the new coalition making up the Republican Party leading to Trump’s victory in 2016. She continues to expand upon this in her latest book, offering the perspective of real people in Pennsylvania and the swing states. This is a great read and I highly recommend it.

[Debra Kipp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why Trump won..

Zito talks to people and more importantly listens! Learn about the people of Butler and how Trump connected with them and the other people who make America go! Want to know why the press missed it? Details in the book.

[Russ · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well written and unique personal look at the 2024 election. The authors daughter took the photos for the book highlighting the events at Butler and the campaign in general. Highly personal and VERY real world! Highly recommend especially to those who normally do not real "political" books.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun read about the most remarkable comeback in politics

I love Saleno Zito's writing style. Finished the book in one day cause I couldn't put it down and I can't stop talking about it.

[Yvonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very readable

Salena's writing style is personal, and her first hand account as a witness of the assassination attempt is intriguing. I appreciated the fact that she has good relationships with both Democrats and Republicans.

[Catherine Stark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding!

[Joe Plourde · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointed. The book has very little to do with the attempted assassination. It is a self aggrandizing author telling stories about her cozy relationship with President Trump. Not a page turner. The name of the book should be: The Adventures of Salena Zito. Rather boring.

[Jessi Troyan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sense of place, affinity for your roots, respect for common sense values, and an enduring belief in the promise of the American Dream if given a fair shake and you give an honest effort.

These characteristics describe the broad coalition of Americans that cast their ballots and swung the presidential election for Donald Trump in 2024. Many were shocked at this outcome in 2016, and even more might've felt similarly eight years after. Don't count Salena Zito among the shocked. Raised among these American Heartland communities, and currently working there and calling it home in western Pennsylvania, she understands and shares these stories better than damn near anyone else in modern journalism.

Finishing this book, I'm left with the resounding take that if any of us want to win the hearts and minds of heartland/flyover/Rust Belt/rural America, we must first respect the hearts and minds of those very same people. Too many have forgone understanding and bridge-building rooted in humility, opting instead for distant explaining and brow-beating from a sense of moral superiority. Ignore the deeper message of Zito's writing and storytelling at your own peril.

[Jane Rollins 9 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful… the writer grasps the heart of hard working people. Family and community oriented Americans who love their families… cities and country. Feeling and caring deeply for the things in life that truly matter. Her definition of those who are “placed” was spot on….. well written. This book should be read by those who struggle with people who support Trump. So beautiful that she remembers the fire fighter who was killed by the bullet meant for Trump. It provides insight into the chaotic and sad state of the media and politics.

[Pat Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

No other journalist understands the Rust Belt the way Salena Zito does. I first caught on to her writing during the 2016 election and have followed her ever since. Salena is a rare, nationally known journo with some real principles - driving everywhere and no highways, for instance- and she writes beautifully. She has the unique ability to take interest in the lives of people that New York and Washington DC with find totally mundane. A+ book. Everyone should read this.

[Dennis Scholl · Rating 4 out of 5]

An honest assess,ent

Salina Zito knows what she is talking about. The book is mainly about the changes in political reporting in this country,not about the assassination attempt only. So it’s not really what I expected but the things she discusses are interesting and important .

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book I have read from Zito. She is an amazing writing with her fingers on the pulse of the average working trying to take care of their family. She gave a whole picture of the view of the events at Butler, as well as the overall presidential campaign and the medias’ role in the entire thing. I enjoyed this read so much and I took my time reading it so I could soak in all the information. Zito is easily 5/5 stars!!!

[Maria Gallagher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding analysis

Author Salena Zito has provided an outstanding analysis of the people who propelled Donald Trump to power a second time. Her descriptions of western Pennsylvania are spot-on and offer a glimpse of the story many in the media missed. This book is a must-read for those interested in populism and the Presidency.