As the shots rang out in Butler, Pennsylvania last year, one reporter had a front-row seat. Salena Zito a veteran journalist from the Keystone State, was just feet away from President Trump as a would-be assassin fired shots.
Just an Ordinary Day?
Zito’s day began with a plan to interview President Trump at the Butler rally. Initially, it was scheduled before the event, then the campaign told Zito she would interview Trump after. “When you’re a journalist,” Zito told Drew Mariani, “90% of the time everything doesn’t go to plan; but you learn to roll with it.”
Plans changed again when Zito was invited to chat with Trump backstage the event. “He gives me a hug, we talk about our grandchildren,” Zito said.
After her chat with Trump, Zito and her daughter were led into the buffer zone normally reserved for Secret Service and photojournalists.
Shots Fired
Before the shots rang out Zito noticed two peculiar things. First, Trump instructed his team to display a chart about illegal immigration. He “never puts a chart down,” Zito told Drew Mariani, “There’s never anything that takes away from that moment between the president and the people attending the rally.”
Second, President Trump gestured to the chart and turned his head. That movement was also unusual said Zito because the President is typically focused on the audience and feeds off their energy.
Then, as Trump was gesturing to the chart, shots rang out. “I hear the first four shots; I know exactly what it is – I’m a gun owner,” Zito recounted. After that, things moved in slow motion.
Importance of the Moment
Even amidst the chaos of the moment, Zito understood her place. “I believe my purpose in that moment was – I’m a reporter; this is history. I need to stay calm, and I need to cover it.”
The next day, President Trump called Zito seven times. In those conversations, Zito let the President do most of the talking. “I felt as though he was working through something, and I needed to give him that space.”
During one of those conversations, the President talked to Zito about Providence. “God is telling me something,” Trump told her. “My purpose is the protection and preservation of our country,” he said.