Reporter Salena Zito was with President Trump at the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally when he was almost assassinated. Now, she joins Glenn to reveal some key moments from that day that the public doesn’t know about, which she details in her new book, “Butler: The Untold Story of the Near Assassination of Donald Trump and the Fight for America's Heartland.” Salena tells Glenn what Trump said right before his famous “Fight! Fight! Fight!” line and why he decided to stand up: “I did not want to be the symbol of America being weak.” She also describes conversations she’s had with the President and why she knows that Trump believes “God saved him.” And…did you know Trump was not the first president to be shot at in Butler?
Transcript
Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors
GLENN: We're talking to Salena Zito. She's the author of a coming book. We'll talk to her again, this summer, when it comes out.
A coming book, called Butler, the untold story of the near assassination of Donald Trump, and the fight for America's heartland.
I think that's chapter one. That's the longest title, Salena, I've ever heard.
And my books have long titles.
SALENA: I didn't come up with that.
GLENN: Yeah. Okay.
Anyway, you were talking about when he was shot. And you said, it was the next day, that was really telling.
Let me ask you first, before you go into the next day. You were close enough to see, when he was down on the ground.
I asked him recently, privately, what -- what was going through your head?
And he said, honestly, Glenn.
This is pathetic, it looks weak. Get up. You're not afraid. Get up. Get up.
That was amazing!
Has he talked to you about that?
SALENA: Yeah. It's in the book. I won't give too much away.
I want everyone to buy it.
GLENN: I'm ordering mine today.
Because Salena is a great writer. She's the one I would want to tell this story. But, anyway, go ahead.
SALENA: Yeah. Yeah. Preorder. You know how important that is, essentially if you don't live in New York or DC.
GLENN: Yeah.
SALENA: So -- so, you know, so we had that conversation. I'll tell you a little about it. Because I had the same -- the way he explained it was so powerful.
The first thing I think people should know is that he called me the first thing in the morning, the next day. And before I could even say hello, he said, Salena, are you okay? Is your daughter okay?
GLENN: Isn't that crazy?
SALENA: And I kind of swore at the president. My mom will be mad when she reads this part. I said, are you (bleep) kidding me? You're the one that was shot, right? But I was so stunned that that was the first thing that he would think of.
And it was o dark 30 in the morning. Like it was really early in the morning. We proceeded to have about seven more phone calls. I think maybe more. And, you know, one of the things he said to me was, I -- I -- one thing people don't know. Is before he said, fight, fight, fight. I could see him.
He says, USA, twice.
He's still on the ground.
And then I see him turn and get up. And say, fight, fight, fight.
And so we talk about that.
And I said, why?
And he said, well, Salena, with Donald Trump -- it was symbolic. Even though, I wasn't president yet, again, I had once been president.
I had an obligation to show that the country is strong, that we will not be defeated.
And that we are resolute.
I did not want to be the symbol of America being weak!
GLENN: Jeez. That does not happen.
SALENA: Chills, Glenn.
GLENN: You're bringing me to tears. That is not something that happens. That is either in you. That is either in you or not in you. And it's in very few people.
SALENA: Yes. Yes. And we talk a lot about faith, as well.
There is some very gripping emotional moments. That he and I have. Not only the next day. But also, I saw him probably a dozen times after that. At different rallies that I covered. And we had some very emotional conversations.
But -- but he believed, in that moment. And I think he believed that always.
You can tell by his swagger. You can tell by the way he talks.
He always believes that you have a responsibility. As the president of the United States, you are the -- you are a symbol of the country, and everything that it stands for.
You should project strength at all times.
And he had it in that moment.
GLENN: Isn't it weird?
SALENA: Yeah. Go ahead.
GLENN: Isn't it weird?
You know, there have been other world leaders that have had assassination attempts.
And it makes them egotistical.
This assassination attempt, actually humbled him. And yet, strengthened him.
It's -- it's the most bizarre thing I've seen.
You know, he could have easily gotten up and said, it was the most beautiful bullet of all time. But my superpowers, you know what I mean?
And he doesn't. He -- he was like, God saved me.
And doesn't use that as a -- that's why, you need to go stay at the Trump God Golf Course that I'm building. I mean, you know what I mean?
SALENA: No, no, no, no. You're exactly right, and people are wondering why he is so resolute on everything that he's doing and everything he's doing at such a warp speed. It's because he believes, and he told me, God was there. God saved him. Because he never uses a chart. He never turns away. He asks me several times, I don't know why -- like, I don't know why I did that, Salena. I don't know why I did that.
And the man you see today, and you see what he is projecting. And no matter who is sort of saying, this is terrible. You're going to break the country. Blah, blah, blah.
Whatever it is. He's like, no. I am supposed to do this.
I am supposed to save this country.
Ask I don't think you're going to see him, you know, waver. Now, will he change his mind on things?
Sure! He's not dumb!
GLENN: Yeah. He's pragmatic.
SALENA: Yes. He's incredibly pragmatic. There's also some -- by the way, people will find out, Trump, in his book, in Butler. That Trump is not the only president to be shot in Butler and almost die. George Washington did.
GLENN: Oh, you're kidding me!
Wait a minute. Wait. Wait. Wait.
He was shot. I didn't think George Washington was ever wounded.
SALENA: Oh, he did. They missed. Just like this guy did.
GLENN: Oh, my gosh. Wow.
SALENA: Yeah. That's -- that's the first chapter. George Washington, running through Butler.
GLENN: I think we need to make sure everybody knows. You're running for president. Don't go to butler, jeez. And the reason why Butler is also so important, is that Butler is a symbol of everyday America.
Right? This is -- this is a count, and a city that is a great big mix of -- of suburbs. But also, industrial, and farmer. And ranchers.
Right? This is -- this is -- if you wanted to feel like a melting pot of the country in one county, this is it. And he goes to places like that, and he lets people know that they are seen.
GLENN: Yeah. I know.
SALENA: Just like East Palestine. That was the moment that changed the trajectory of his election, was showing up in east Palestine in February of 2023.
People may not remember, he was down in the polls then.
This was before the primary process started.
And he was down in the polls.
One week after he went to east Palestine, he shot out above DeSantis and Haley and never looked back.
And that is -- that is that magic power that he has. In that, he makes places and people in those places, be seen. And so the book will also take you through what nobody saw during the election cycle.
GLENN: Hang on. Hang on. Let me go back to Butter for a second.
SALENA: Yeah.
GLENN: He also said to me, the one thing that cemented. Where he knew -- and I think this is part of where he got his swagger back. Where he knew the American people were with him. He said, I get back up. And I see the crowd is not a jumble of chaos, everybody stampeding toward an exit. I've never really seen the video of that moment, from the crowd perspective. Just I always seat video of him.
What was it like?
In the crowd. When that was going on. What was happening, to the crowd?
SALENA: It was like a miracle.
People were not freaking out.
People were cheering him on, as he left.
And after he was safely gone, they just quietly exited.
And what is really profound, Glenn. Is, you know, they kept me in the back, for a long time.
They were trying to make sure I wasn't hit. Because I never got down.
And, you know, because sometimes you don't know if you're hit, right?
GLENN: Right.
SALENA: And so I go out and walk with my daughter and son-in-law. We walk to our car.
And this is on a big farm, right?
And there's all the cars that are still there.
They hadn't let anybody still leave yet.
Instead of people blowing their horn.
This is an hour after it happened, right?
Instead of people freaking out. People were outside of their cars. They were hugging each other.
They were sharing waters and food.
And helping each other. And making sure everyone was okay.
It was -- it was incredibly moving. To be there.
And I talked to people, that were there, in the book. And it was absolutely -- I get chills even talking about it.
Because what you saw, in that moment, was -- was the way that people behaved, in -- in a crisis situation. To go one of two ways.
GLENN: Yeah.
SALENA: And many people said to me, that they felt the presence of something greater than self in that moment.
And they believed -- they weren't scared!
They weren't scared.
GLENN: That's amazing.
Salena, the name of the book is called Butler. It's coming out this summer.
You can preorder it now.
I am literally going to order my copy today.
SALENA: Thank you.
GLENN: Because Salena is fantastic.
She's one of my favorite writers in the world.
And just really, really good.
So this is going to be a great story. Do you get into the -- who the shooter was? And all of that?
SALENA: Yeah. The shooter actually grew up maybe 3 miles from -- from my -- my home of 30 years. There's not much to tell, in terms of motive.
But I really get into the family, the poor sportsman range. Where he went to.
You know, this is a kid, who, you know, I went and looked at the walls, of -- of when he went to the -- to the range.
He went on Thanksgiving.
He went on Christmas.
He went on Valentine's Day.
GLENN: You're with somebody.
SALENA: You're able to get more of a profile of this -- of this gentleman, but I also -- you know, this is -- like, this is a day, that had the windblown any other way.
You know, so many things could have been so wrong in that moment.
And that's the heart of Butler.
And you saw it elsewhere, throughout the election. With -- with the president.
And like I said, there's some funny spots.
He chases me with hair spray, all the time.
GLENN: All the time?
SALENA: Oh, yeah. Yeah.
He thinks -- he -- he thinks, that I have the greatest hair in America.
GLENN: Hmm.
SALENA: And he will tell you that. But he also is like, you need to wear hair spray.
I'm like, I don't want my hair any bigger.
(laughter)
SALENA: It's Italian. I can't help the way it looks.
And so, yeah. There's some very humorous moments in the book as well.
But also, just like really on the ground in Pennsylvania.
And really seeing what really was happening in that election. Not just with President Trump, but also with Harris and Walls. There are some stories there, that will blow people's minds, in terms of how inept and unprepared they were.
GLENN: We would love to have you back.
You know -- you know, when the book is out.
But thank you so much for sharing that. I know you didn't plan on sharing it today, but thank you so much. Appreciate it.
SALENA: Oh, my goodness. I really, deeply appreciate it.
GLENN: No, it's always good to talk to you. Good, good dear friend, and one of the best journalists out there, Salena Zito.
The name of the book is Butler. You can preorder it now. Get it now.
And be one of the first to have it. We will try to have her back on. When the book officially comes out.
It sounds like a great read.
