President Donald Trump praised a new book by the Washington Examiner’s Salena Zito, saying it provides an eyewitness account of the “unbreakable spirit” demonstrated after his assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Zito’s book, Butler: The Untold Story of the Near Assassination of Donald Trump and the Fight for America’s Heartland, was released on Tuesday and provides insight from the author as she stood a few feet away from Trump’s stage on July 13, 2024. Her book release comes just under a year after Trump narrowly escaped death and has received the president’s endorsement.
Recommended Stories
- Sports wagering nets North Carolina $116.5M in first full fiscal year
- GOP lawmakers demand Bhattacharya ends NIH experiments on dogs and cats
- Supreme Court allows Trump plan to cut federal workforce
“‘Salena has written a powerful new book…she was an eyewitness to that terrible day & understands the unbreakable spirit of our movement to FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT,’” Zito wrote on X, quoting the president. “‘The future of our nation resides in the hearts & souls of the people of our country… order your copy today.’”
The then-presidential candidate called Zito the day after the shooting to see if she and her relatives were OK, Zito said Tuesday on Fox News. During their discussions, Trump told Zito he “wasn’t Donald Trump” when he chose to get up from the ground and chant, “Fight, fight, fight!”
“‘I was the president of the United States, and all that that represents, and all that that means. And it was important to me, not just for the people that were there, but also the people that I knew that were watching, that this– that we’re OK, meaning the country,’” Zito said in describing Trump’s statement on Fox News’s America’s Newsroom.
“‘That America is going to be OK, we are resilient, we are resolved, and I needed to express strength for the country. Not for me, for the country,’” Zito continued.
MCDONALD’S VS THE MEDIA: THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER POLITICAL SHOWMAN LIKE TRUMP
Zito said Trump’s comments resonated with her as she wrote her book. Specifically, she said that how Trump got up and chanted, “fight, fight, fight,” was “a moment of purpose.” She also said the way Trump handled almost dying was “very defining” for the nation.
Zito has also discussed her book on The Megyn Kelly Show, during which she said the president told her he was “representing the presidency” in getting back up after the Secret Service pushed him to the ground. Trump has also told her “God’s hand” was present in surviving the bullet that narrowly missed him, and he is obligated to “be the best that I can be for this country.”