by Salena Zito
First published 2025
Journalist Salena Zito stands four feet from the presidential podium in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024 when gunshots shatter the afternoon air. As chaos erupts around the stage, she becomes an eyewitness to an assassination attempt that nearly changes American history. A slight turn of the head, a gust of wind, or a different heartbeat could have plunged the nation into civil war. Zito draws on seven exclusive conversations with Trump in the 24 hours following the shooting, along with access to his security detail, top aides, and local law enforcement. She investigates the shooter's identity and motives, the security failures that allowed him to get so close, and why bystanders' warnings went unheeded. The book examines how this moment reshaped Trump's connection with voters and explores the institutional reckoning that followed. This is the story of a day that redefined American politics, told by someone who watched it unfold.
Genres: american, 21st-century, journalism, political-thriller, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: eyewitness, institutional-reckoning
Setting: Butler, Pennsylvania
Period: July 13, 2024
256 pages · Hardcover · Center Street