I've been reading, watching, and listening to Salena Zito for several years. I follow her because she is an old-school reporter who actually drives around the country on backroads and talks to people. She doesn't talk to celebrities; Salena talks to real people. Working people such as farmers, waiters, barbers, steel workers, and small business owners are the subjects of her columns and commentaries.
Because I knew that Salena Zito was a few feet from President Trump when he was shot in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July last year, I awaited the publication of her book, Butler: The Untold Story of the Near Assassination of Donald Trump and the Fight for America's Heartland with great impatience. The book is an immediate success, with a debut in the top slot of the New York Times bestseller list.
When she predicted Donald Trump would win the 2024 election, I tended to believe her. Salena is a western Pennsylvania native who never left her roots. She has what she describes in the book as "a sense of place." This grassroots understanding, which she has called a "Midwest power," gives her a direct connection to the pulse of the country, its citizens, communities, and voters, that few reporters today possess or even comprehend.
I got my copy of Butler earlier this week and finished reading it today. It is hard to put down and educational in the best sense of the word. Salena Zito has an easy, comfortable writing style, and she imparts her observations and wisdom with simple facts stated plainly but not in a critical manner. That expressive finesse is no small achievement. If you want to obtain crucial insights into Middle America as well as a dramatic eyewitness account of the first assassination attempt on Donald Trump, I recommend Butler by Salena Zito most highly.