How The Near-Assassination At Butler Changed Trump For Good: ‘You See It Every Day’

Amanda PrestigiacomoJul 13, 20251/2

On the one-year anniversary of the near-assassination of President Donald Trump, a journalist who was with Trump at the rally in Butler shares inside details about that fateful day –and how the president has been profoundly changed.

Pennsylvania journalist and author Selena Zito was not only with Trump at the Butler rally, but she spoke to him just before he went on stage. She was a first-hand witness to the bullet that nearly took his life, and spoke to him several times in the days that followed the attempt on his life.

Appearing on The Daily Wire’s Morning Wire podcast, Zito revealed her conclusions from her seven conversations with Trump in the days after his he nearly lost his life.

“There was definitely a change” in Trump, Zito said. “This is a man who understands that he has purpose, and he understands that God was there in that moment.”

“Now, do I think he’s going to be someone that goes to mass every Sunday? No. But do I think God is ever present in his mind? Absolutely,” she continued. “You see it every day.”

“In the days after the assassination attempt on Trump, he called me seven times,” Zito continued. “We talked a lot about, ‘What is my purpose?’ — about him and the hand of God in that moment. He said, ‘I have no explanation as to why I turned my head. I have no explanation as to why that chart came down. That can only be the hand of God.’ And that, ‘I have purpose outside of Donald Trump, the man. I am supposed to do the right things by the country.’”

“And you see that every day in him,” Zito added. “You see that since the moment he was inaugurated, he has put his head down and gone straight forward. And even if something doesn’t work, he finds a way to get around that and make it work eventually. And that is that sort of purpose-driven life that I think I know he lacked before that. And you can see the difference between the first six months of 2017, and the first six months of 2025.”

Zito recalls exactly where she was when Trump was nearly shot, and even what she was thinking. Shebeing ushered to the “buffer” area – the space between the podium and the rally attendees that’s typically for Secret Service agents and photojournalists – right before Trump took the stage.

“He gets to the podium,” Zito said. “And then he does two things that he never does, ever – I’ve covered dozens of Trump rallies.”

“He decides to put a chart down, and I remember saying to my daughter (who’s a photojournalist), ‘Who does he think he is? Ross Perot? Why is there a chart?’” she said. “And then he does something else that he never does: he turns his neck away from the audience members.”

Trump was looking at a chart detailing immigration numbers at the moment he was shot in the ear in Butler. The president has repeatedly called the chart “beautiful” and said he would have been shot “right in the head” if he hadn’t turned his head to look at the graphic.

“And why that is significant is, if you’ve ever been to a Trump rally or even if you’ve ever watched one, the relationship between the attendees and President Trump is very transactional,” Zito explained. “He feeds off of them and they feed off of him. So he may turn his body to face different audiences, different sections, but he never turns his neck away, never.”

“And in that moment, the chart goes down, he turns his neck away, and I hear four shots,” she continues. “And I knew instantly what it was, I’m a gun owner. I could hear people say, ‘Is that firecrackers?’ But I knew instantly that there were gunshots. I knew instantly he was shot. I saw him grab his ear and I see this blood streak across his face.”

https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-the-near-assassination-at-butler-changed-trump-for-good-you-see-it-every-

>>23322150

2/2

“You can see him flinch, you know he’s hit,” the journalist recalled. “And he takes himself down, which was important – this is the first thing I’m noting in my head, okay, he’s not knocked down, he took himself down. This means he may not be gravely injured.”

After Secret Service agents rushed on stage, Zito said she heard “the next four shots.”

“I still don’t take myself down,” she said. “I’m in this moment believing that I have a purpose. There’s a reason I’m there. I’m not supposed to be there, and I need to chronicle this.”

Seconds after those shots were fired off, a campaign press advance man for Trump’s team, named Michel Picard, “literally tackles me to the ground and takes me down,” Zito said. “And he covers my body to make sure that I’m okay until it’s all clear. And I will never forget what that young man did.”

Zito may have been the last person to speak to Trump before he took the stage, though it was just briefly.

She was supposed to interview Trump before the rally, but the interview got pushed to after the event. Trump, though, still asked to speak to Zito just before he got on stage. Zito explained that Trump typically talks with people who want to meet him before his rallies, typically “state troopers and firemen and first responders.”

“I go around, and President Trump always says I have the best hair in America, and it’s pretty funny,” she recalled. “I get really embarrassed because there’s all these people around. There’s mostly state troopers and firemen and first responders – they’re back there to meet the president. He always does that. And he asks, he gives me a big hug. He asks about my grandchildren – he knows that I have a lot of grandchildren. We talk about each other’s grandchildren.”

Trump then departed for the rally stage, and minutes later the shots rang out.

Zito has known Trump for years, and her journalism on the Rustbelt served as a bellwether for Trump’s 2016 upset win against Hillary Clinton. Zito is known for capturing his appeal with working class voters. “The press takes him literally, but not seriously; his supporters take him seriously, but not literally,” she once famously said.

“I remember him covering him coming down the escalator,” Zito said. While journalists were focused on his comments about “Mexicans” and “a wall,” Zito said she noticed how Trump talked about the forgotten Americans.

“I’m from Western Pennsylvania, so my coverage is very different. I’m not saying it’s better, it’s just different. And I heard him talk about the dignity of work, and how communities felt left behind,” she said. “And I cover the people that feel that way. And I thought, this is profound. This is really, really important. And so that was the beginning of covering him.

Zito recalled interviewing Trump back in 2016 and noticing how he treated everyday Americans.

“After I did the interview with him, he said, ‘You want to take a walk with me, Zito?’ There were no cameras, we weren’t recording, and I just watched how he was so much more interested in talking to the people that were making the convention that he was speaking at work,” she said. “You know, the janitors, the people who were the caterers, the electricians, the plumbers, all those people who made that convention outside of the walls look beautiful. That’s where he was connecting with people. And he was asking them about their lives, and what they do, what’s your family like? And it was a really interesting glimpse into the curiosity that he has about people.”

Zito said she told Trump that he was straddling two different worlds. “Voters take you seriously, but they don’t take everything you say literally,” she said to Trump. “Where my profession takes everything you say literally, and they don’t take your candidacy very seriously.”

“It was in that moment of understanding who he was, and the voter that people didn’t see – and more importantly, the voter that a lot of reporters didn’t respect – that I think that he and I developed a mutual respect for each other,” she continued.

Zito released a new book on July 8, titled, “Butler: The Untold Story of the Near Assassination of Donald Trump and the Fight for America’s Heartland,” which is available for order here.

https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-the-near-assassination-at-butler-changed-trump-for-good-you-see-it-every-day

Salena Zito: I Witnessed the Attempt on Trump’s Life

17:45

https://youtu.be/ugyLoBzb5yg

13 Jul, 2025 20:32

Istanbul talks format ‘exhausted itself’ – Kiev

The Russian negotiating position has been a rigid ultimatum, a senior Ukrainian diplomat has argued

The format of direct peace negotiations between Moscow and Kiev in Istanbul has “practically exhausted itself” due to Russia’s “maximalist”demands, Ukrainian First Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Kislitsa has claimed.

Russia and Ukraine have met for two rounds of direct negotiations in Türkiye this year, restarting talks that Kiev unilaterally abandoned in 2022.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s goal for the ongoing US-backed talks is to demand Kiev’s surrender in the conflict, Kislitsa said in an interview with the Kiev Independent published on Friday.

“Putin’s mandate is to force capitulation. Their logic is the opposite of ours,” he said, arguing that the Russian position was worse than “maximalist.”

“Our mandate had three points: first, ceasefire,”Kislitsa said. The second was to “create the conditions” for a meeting between Putin and Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, and the third included “confidence-building measures” such as humanitarian issues such as prisoner swaps, he added.

Putin has not refused such a meeting, but has argued that currently any final peace agreements signed by Zelensky would be illegitimate given that his presidential term expired in May 2024.

Kislitsa insisted that a direct meeting between the leaders is necessary due to the “complexity”and “depth” of the conflict. He also argued that Moscow aims to “bureaucratize” the talks.

“We saw this before in the endless Minsk process groups,” the diplomat claimed. “Endless meetings – but there were no results.”

The failed Western-backed 2014-2015 Minsk Agreements were ostensibly meant to freeze the conflict between Ukraine and the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk.Both former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former French President Francois Hollande later admitted that the accords were a mechanism to stall for time and allow Kiev to rearm.

Moscow has refused Ukrainian demands for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, arguing that such a truce would be a repeat of the Minsk Agreements. Russia has maintained that any settlement needs to be permanent, legally foolproof, and it must address the core causes of the conflict.

The Kremlin has also condemned French and British initiatives to deploy peacekeeping troops and fighter jets to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire, blasting them as “militaristic.”

(Kiev just admitted their negotiators have no self discipline to stay on the subject!)

https://www.rt.com/russia/621428-istanbul-format-exhausted-itself-kiev/

13 Jul, 2025 22:18

Ukraine accuses NYT of spreading ‘Russian propaganda’

Kiev has blasted the leading US newspaper for reporting from the recently liberated region of Kursk

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has accused the New York Times of propagandaafter its reporter traveled to the part of western Russia which previously came under attack by Ukrainian troops.

Kiev took issue with the July 12 story by Times journalist and photographer Nanna Heitmann, who described life in the Kursk region, which borders Ukraine. In August 2024, Ukrainian forces crossed Russia’s internationally recognized border and captured the small city of Sudzha and dozens of villages, but were eventually expelled last April.Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky said at the time that the incursion was meant to acquire leverage for future peace talks.

“Whoever at Times thought it was smart to report alongside Russian war criminals made the dumbest decision. This isn’t balance or ‘the other side of the story.’ This is simply letting Russian propaganda mislead the audience,”Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Georgy Tikhy wrote on X on Saturday.

Heitmann, who said she was at times escorted by the Chechnya-based Akhmat unit, took photos of Russian soldiers patrolling the destroyed villages, clearing mines, and helping to evacuate civilians.She spoke to locals whose homes were damaged by the fighting, and visited a shelter for evacuated civilians.

The journalist said she observed the bodies of civilians and soldiers, claiming that “the uniforms visible among the fallen were mostly Russian.”

“Amid shattered homes, other bodies had lain decomposing for months, seemingly untouched, the circumstances of their deaths unknown,”Heitmann wrote. She reported that some locals criticized the government for not evacuating everyone in time, but mentioned that Russian officials denied these claims and said more than 150,000 people were evacuated from the region.

Ukrainian troops allowed multiple Western news crews, including CNN, France 24, El Mundo and Deutsche Welle, to accompany them during the incursion and to report from occupied Sudzha.

Moscow subsequently charged several foreign journalists with border violations. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused the Western media of propaganda on Kiev’s behalf and of covering up atrocities.According to Russia, Ukrainian troops massacred civilians in several villages, including Russkoye Porechnoye and Nikolayevo-Daryino.

(Finally the American Media are telling the truth)

https://www.rt.com/russia/621430-kiev-blast-nyt-report-kursk/

13 Jul, 2025 21:13

New suspects emerge in Ukrainian plot to assassinate RT editor-in-chief – TASS

A group of neo-Nazis planned to target Margarita Simonyan on orders of Kiev’s security service (SBU), according to investigators

Three new suspects have emerged in a criminal investigation into an attempted assassination of RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan, TASS has reported, citing court documents. The case, dating back to 2023, involved a group of Russian neo-Nazis who allegedly targeted Simonyan on orders from the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU).

All the new suspects are underage, the news agency said, adding that the court has placed them under a restraining order. Their alleged role in the attempted assassination plot is unclear. Earlier, a Moscow court also told TASS that the pre-trial detention of other suspects in the case had been extended until October.

In July 2023, Russian law enforcement announced it had thwarted a Ukrainian plan to kill Simonyan.The ‘Paragraph 88’ neo-Nazi group memberswere allegedly preparing an attack after being recruited by the SBU.

The would-be assassins were caught carrying out reconnaissance in Moscow and Ryazan Region, according to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). During the operation, law enforcement seized a Kalashnikov assault rifle, 90 cartridges, rubber hoses, knives, brass knuckles, and handcuffs.

The suspects thenconfirmed they were offered a reward of 1.5 million rubles ($20,000) for the murder, the FSB said.

Simonyan expressed her “deepest gratitude to our law enforcement officers for their work”following the operation. She also said that Kiev would have had a hard time justifying the murder of a journalist and mother of several children. Simonyan has been the editor-in-chief of RT since its founding in 2005, is married and has three children.

Kiev has previously accused Simonyan of acting as a “propagandist” and furthering “Russian narratives” via social media and during interviews. Last year, theUkrainian authorities launched a criminal case against her over “propaganda of war” and “denial of armed aggression by Russia.”

In 2023, the SBU claimed she called for mass killings of Ukrainian children but failed to provide any evidence. The journalist then said thatthe false accusations against her were an attempt by Kiev to make a future attack on her “appear more palatable.”

https://www.rt.com/russia/621429-new-suspects-simonyan-assassination-ukrainian/

Apparently RT information was too reliable or believable compared to Ukraine’s propaganda!

>>23322365

Is this accurate, take a pic of his truth post so we can compare it, to be believed.

I don’t doubt it may be true, I just want proof.

President Trump Impromptu Press Remarks from Joint Base Andrews – July 13, 2024 – Video

July 13, 2025 | Sundance |

On the anniversary of his attempted assassination, President Donald Trump takes questions from the media after arriving at Joint Base Andrews.

Thoughts on the anniversary: ““God was protecting me. Maybe because God wanted to see our country do better, or do really well. Make America great again.”

Thoughts on Russia: “I am very disappointed with President Putin. I thought he was somebody that meant what he said — and he’ll talk so beautifully, then he’ll bomb people at night. We don’t like that.”

Thoughts on Patriot Missiles: I haven’t agreed on the number yet, but they’re going to have some because they do need protection,but the European Union is paying for it. We’re not paying anything for it, but we will send it.… we will send them Patriots which they desperately need.”

Thoughts on Bongino Staying: “”Oh I think so. I did, I spoke to him today. Dan Bongino, very good guy. I’ve known him a long time. I’ve done his show many many times. He sounded terrific, actually. No, I think he’s in good shape.” WATCH:

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2025/07/13/president-trump-impromptu-press-remarks-from-joint-base-andrews-july-13-2024-video/

https://youtu.be/GsMsp_0MJis

Sunday Talks – Senator Lindsey Graham Outlines President Trump’s Plan Against Russia

July 13, 2025 | Sundance |

Senator Lindsey Graham and Senator Richard Blumental appear on CBS with the always dramatic Margaret Brennan to discuss what President Trump is going to do against Russia and President Vladimir Putin tomorrow. Senator Lindsey Graham is very happy with the plans President Trump will outline tomorrow; very happy.

The action appears to center around the confiscation of Russian assets, Russian central bank reserves held in European bonds. The money belongs to the people of Russia in the form of bonds previously purchased by Russia using a system that many nations follow, including all those nations who buy U.S. treasuries.

If the USA or Europe end up confiscating those funds, the only thing this action would prove is that the western financial system cannot be trusted. Many Nations are already reluctant, some fleeing from EU/U.S treasuries as a result of this threat, and we are seeing changes in the bond rates as a result. Senator Graham doesn’t care about the strategic financial interests of the USA, he’s more concerned about fighting Russia regardless of long-term ramifications. WATCH:

(President Trump should not approve this, it will be the end of all diplomatic negotiations, and a potential Cold War again. Anything Graham and Blumenthal present should be automatically be rejected.)

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2025/07/13/sunday-talks-senator-lindsey-graham-outlines-president-trumps-plan-against-russia/

https://youtu.be/liBfHnmhZS4