On the one-year anniversary of the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, journalist Selena Zito shared personal accounts of the moment that nearly claimed the president’s life — and how it fundamentally changed him.
Zito, a veteran reporter and author, was with Trump at the rally just minutes before the shots rang out. Speaking on The Daily Wire’s Morning Wire podcast, she revealed that Trump contacted her seven times in the days following the shooting — each time grappling with what he described as divine intervention and a renewed sense of purpose.
“There was definitely a change,” Zito said. “This is a man who now understands he has purpose — and that God was there in that moment. He talks about it constantly.”
Trump, who was shot in the ear while on stage, told Zito he had no explanation for why he turned his head at that exact second, or why he placed a chart on the podium — something he had never done before. “That can only be the hand of God,” he reportedly told her.
Zito emphasized the difference between Trump before and after the attempt on his life. “From the moment he was inaugurated in 2025, you could see a man with a clear, purpose-driven life. And you can see the difference between the first six months of 2017 and the first six months of this term,” she said.
Recalling the moment of the attack, Zito was standing near the stage in the press buffer zone with her daughter, a photojournalist. She noted how Trump broke from his usual routine by placing a chart on the podium and turning his neck completely toward it — an unusual move for a man known for feeding off crowd energy. That split-second decision likely saved his life.
“I heard four shots,” Zito said. “I knew instantly what it was — I’m a gun owner. I saw him grab his ear. There was a streak of blood across his face. But he took himself down, which told me he wasn’t gravely injured.”
Seconds later, more shots rang out. Zito remained standing until a Trump staffer, Michel Picard, tackled her to the ground and shielded her with his body until it was safe.
Zito may have been the last person to speak to Trump before he walked on stage. Though their formal interview had been postponed, Trump asked to see her briefly. “He gave me a hug, joked about my hair, asked about my grandchildren. That’s how he is with people — especially first responders and state troopers. That’s where he feels most at home.”
Zito, known for her deep reporting in the Rust Belt, was among the first national journalists to grasp Trump’s connection with working-class America during his 2016 run. Her observation — “the press takes him literally, but not seriously; his supporters take him seriously, but not literally” — became one of the most cited descriptions of Trump’s unique political relationship with voters.
She said Trump’s authenticity with working Americans struck her early on. After a 2016 interview, Trump took her on a walk — no cameras, no press — and spent time speaking with janitors, caterers, electricians, and event staff. “He was more interested in them than the political bigwigs,” Zito said. “He was asking about their families, their lives. He’s genuinely curious about people.”
That bond, Zito explained, helped forge a mutual respect between her and the president — one that has carried through years of interviews and candid moments.
Today, a year after the shooting, she believes that moment in Butler marked a spiritual and political turning point.
“He understands that he was spared for a reason,” she said. “He’s not the same man he was before. And you can see it every single day.”
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