'Hand of God': Trump believes God spared him for higher purpose, says journalist who saw Butler shooting

BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA: Nearly a year after an assassination attempt shook the nation on July 13, veteran journalist and author Salena Zito is offering a rare, firsthand account of President Donald Trump’s harrowing escape at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

In her new book, 'Butler: The Untold Story of the Near Assassination of Donald Trump and the Fight for America’s Heartland', Zito shares never-before-heard details from the day gunfire erupted and the deeply personal conversations she had with Trump in the hours and days that followed.

Author reveals private calls with Trump after 2024 assassination attempt

Speaking on 'The Brian Kilmeade Show' this week, Zito recounted the precise moment the shooting began on July 13, 2024, when a bullet grazed Trump’s ear during a rally appearance.

“I see him grab his ear. I see the blood streak across his face,” she said. “I see him take himself down. That was my first indication that maybe he's OK. Or at least he's not as gravely wounded as I thought he might be because of the blood.”

Zito happened to be in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13 of last year when shots were fired during a Trump campaign rally.

The gunman, later identified as 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, injured multiple attendees and killed firefighter Corey Comperatore.

In her latest book, Zito recounts her personal experience from that unforgettable day and offers an inside look at the moments that shook the nation.

“I heard everything,” she recalled of the frantic moments that followed the gunfire. “Including his insistence to put his shoes on,” she added.

Donald Trump believes 'hand of God' spared him at Butler rally

Zito said she received not one, but seven calls from Trump the following day. The conversations, she said, were deeply introspective. “He would go on to call me, it was a total of seven times that day,” she said. “We had some powerful conversations.”

She shared that the president kept revisiting the events of that day, asking things like why he turned his head or looked toward the chart onstage.

According to Zito, the president believes the moment of near-death wasn’t random but a sign of purpose. “He (Trump) comes to the conclusion, several times, that it was the hand of God,” said Zito. 

She reflected on the emotional weight of the moment, saying, “He was spared because he has been given a higher purpose than to just be a candidate for president. To be the best thing that he could possibly be for the country.”

Right after the attack, Zito recalled that Trump resisted moving him off the stage too quickly. Curious about his reaction, she later asked him directly why he chose to stay.

Trump told her, “I wasn’t Donald Trump in that moment. I represented the presidency of the United States.” He reportedly felt compelled to stand up even as blood streamed down his face to reassure a panicked crowd. He said, “I needed people to know that we go on, and we will always go on no matter what.”