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Newsweek
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
How Trump's Near-Assassination Was Downplayed and Memory-Holed in the Media
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A year after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, some political commentators are arguing the incident was minimized by the media, while marveling at how quickly the near-murder of the former and future American president has faded from public consciousness. On the eve of the 2024 Republican National Convention, a gunman opened fire on Trump from a rooftop near the Butler fairgrounds, grazing Trump's ear, killing a local firefighter, Corey Comperatore, and injuring two others. While the attack could have been a galvanizing national moment, some media critics say it was instead overshadowed by election coverage, partisan concerns, and editorial decisions meant to avoid amplifying Trump's near-death experience. This week, Veteran political journalist Mark Halperin, on his Next Up podcast, called the muted response "one of the best ways to understand what we're still going through as a country." In a conversation with Journalist Salena Zito, ahead of the release of her book 'Butler: The Untold Story of the Near Assassination of Donald Trump and the Fight for America's Heartland,' Halperin highlighted what he saw as a stark disconnect between how the media treated Trump's shooting and how it might have covered similar attacks on Democratic leaders. This aerial photo of the Butler Farm Show, site of the Saturday, July 13, 2024 Trump campaign rally, shown Monday, July 15, 2024 in Butler, Pa. This aerial photo of the Butler Farm Show, site of the Saturday, July 13, 2024 Trump campaign rally, shown Monday, July 15, 2024 in Butler, Pa. AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar "The left, the people who do not like Donald Trump, did not treat his attempted assassination the way they would have if it had been Barack Obama or Joe Biden," Halperin said, describing what he saw as an "extraordinary failure" to confront the shooter's motive or scrutinize the security breakdown. Footage and investigations have since raised more questions about how the would-be assassin, Thomas Crooks, was able to position himself with a clear line of sight toward the presumptive Republican candidate for president. But as a cascade of security failures have come to light, public attention has waned. Conservative commentator Drew Holden wrote in The Spectator that the effort to downplay the shooting "started moments after the shots rang out," with networks using vague language like "loud noises" and "popping sounds" to describe the scene — even after the Associated Press confirmed Trump had indeed been hit by live fire. Holden noted that within weeks, coverage in major outlets dropped off dramatically, comparing it unfavorably to the media's treatment of the January 6 Capitol riot. "Just a couple of months before the 2024 election, I think the press was afraid of adding fuel to the Trump campaign, especially since some polling at the time showed the assassination attempt had boosted his popularity," Holden told Newsweek about his findings. 'Abandoned Coverage' Halperin and Holden have both sharply criticized the way media outlets covered — and then quickly abandoned — the story of Trump's near-assassination, framing it as a revealing moment about U.S. politics and journalism. On his podcast, Halperin argued that the muted response reflected deep-seated hostility to Trump from mainstream institutions, which failed to interrogate the story the way they would have if the target were a Democrat. He cited examples of commentators and anchors — including Martha Raddatz of ABC News and Margaret Brennan of CBS News — who quickly pivoted to blaming Trump's own rhetoric rather than focusing on the attack itself. 'Can you imagine that? Someone tries to kill the president, former president, front runner, and between the government and the media, it is an absolute mystery…'@markhalperin reflects back on how the media and the Left blamed TRUMP for Butler assassination attempt – and… — Next Up with Mark Halperin (@NextUpHalperin) July 8, 2025 "You see in the immediate aftermath of the near-death of Donald Trump, people wanting to hold him accountable for his own near murder. It's kind of incredible," Halperin said. He also criticized commentators who cast doubt on the seriousness of Trump's injuries, including MSNBC's Michael Steele, the former Republican operative turned fierce Trump critic who speculated on-air whether the ear wound was caused by glass instead of a bullet. JUST IN - YOUR REACTION: Former RNC Chair Michael Steele Demands Answers, Says, 'If Trump Was Shot with a High-Caliber Bullet, There Should Be Very Little Ear There,' Asks, 'Where is the Medical Report from the Hospital or Campaign?' Suggests a Cover-Up. WATCH — Simon Ateba (@simonateba) July 17, 2024 "Even a week after he'd been shot and the doctors had spoken out, you heard all this skepticism from the left," Halperin noted. Holden highlighted the media's coverage of the shooting in a detailed X thread, posting screenshots of early headlines from USA Today, NBC News, CNN and the Los Angeles Times that downplayed the attack as "popping noises" or an "incident." He also pointed out that some in the media, including Joy Reid, formerly of MSNBC, and Raddatz of ABC, blamed Trump's own rhetoric for the shooting, even in the hours immediately afterward. It was a trend that, as Holden noted, continued even after the second attempt on Trump's life was thwarted last September. Joy Reid of MSNBC is now suggesting that Donald Trump was never hit by a bullet, and that his campaign and the Secret Service colluded to kill two people in a fake assassination attempt just so Trump could have a photo op. Outrageous. Insane. Defamatory. NBC must take Reid off… — Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) July 18, 2024 ABC's Martha Raddatz's seething hate is all apparent in her haggard face. Here she is blaming Trump for the assassination attempt on his life using the 'bloodbath' hoax. — John Ocasio-Rodham Nolte (@NolteNC) July 14, 2024 NBC's Lester Holt: "Today's apparent assassination attempt comes amid increasingly fierce rhetoric on the campaign trail. Mr. Trump, his running mate JD Vance continue to make baseless claims about Haitian immigrants" in Springfield, Ohio, resulting in bomb threats. — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) September 15, 2024 On X, Holden highlighted coverage from networks like CBS, which questioned whether Trump "really needed all that bandaging on his ear" when he spoke days later at the Republican National Convention to formally accept the party's nomination. Trump didn't require stitches on his ear because it was a scratch, not a gaping bullet wound. So the wad of gauze was slapped on his ear for dramatic effect, as suspected. — Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline) July 20, 2024 Coverage in the print press also quickly dwindled, despite a flood of questions about Crooks' motives and background and the security failures on behalf of Secret Service and local law enforcement. Holden pointed to New Yorker columnist Jay Caspian Kang, who observed that just three days after the shooting "there were no stories about the shooting in the top slots on the websites of the New York Times, the Washington Post, or the Wall Street Journal." By late August, he said, the coverage had all but ceased. "The shooting happened less than a month after Biden stepped aside as the nominee following his disastrous debate performance. The last thing the press wanted was to make that worse," Holden told Newsweek. The Butler assassination attempt came in the midst of a summer that many commentators across the political spectrum have acknowledged as the wildest few weeks in modern American politics. In the days that followed, Trump picked his running mate, JD Vance, while President Joe Biden — already reeling from the fallout from his debate performance weeks earlier — announced he was stepping aside as the Democratic nominee and endorsed his running mate to lead the ticket. Trump would be reelected 15 weeks later.
New York Post
29-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
The woman who witnessed the assassination attempt against Trump
'When you're a reporter, there's always this understanding that you are chronicling a thread of history.' So says author and long-time New York Postcontributor Salena Zito, whose new book 'Butler: The Untold Story of the Near Assassination of Donald Trump and the Fight for America's Heartland' details her experience standing mere feet from President Trump when he was shot on July 13. 9 The iconic image of Pres. Trump standing after he had been shot, blood pouring from his ear — but insisting on continuing the fight onward. AP Zito was hardly new to being in such close proximity to the president. A longtime chronicler of his unlikely political ascent, they enjoyed an unexpected camaraderie fueled by an affection for family. 'Salena, it's so great to see you. How are you doing? How are all those grandkids?' Trump said to Zito just before he took that fateful Pennsylvania stage. 'I love my grandkids, too. I love being around them,' he concluded. Advertisement Within minutes, in a typical Trumpian display of patriotism, country star Lee Greenwood was singing 'God Bless the USA'; minutes after that, Thomas Matthew Crooks fired eight rounds at Trump, nearly killing the president and sparking nationwide shock and history-making. 'I knew as soon as I heard those first shots, I had an obligation to be calm,' Zito says, 'because what I was covering wasn't just a tiny thread of modern history. It was an event that was going to change everything.' Here, in an exclusive excerpt from 'Butler,' Zito describes the day she stood alongside history in the making. 9 Thomas Matthews Crooks, who shot Pres. Trump, during his high school graduation. Obtained by NY Post Advertisement ——– I felt the velocity in the same split second that I heard the four gunshots. My eyes were fixated on [then] former president Donald Trump, who stood a mere few feet away from me on an outdoor stage in front of the podium. It was July 13, 2024. I was in the buffer zone with my daughter, Shannon Venditti, and my son-in-law Michael. Shannon looked over at me and asked, 'Why are there fireworks?' I knew they weren't fireworks and, subconsciously, she did too. We are gun owners. Shannon didn't want to think this could be happening; a mother of four, she didn't want to believe we were in the line of fire. I heard her yell to Michael, 'Did you trip on the speaker wires and cause them to spark?' My gaze never left the president. Everything happened simultaneously, seemed to happen in split-second layers. I saw him flinch. He grabbed his ear. I saw the blood streak on his face as the bullets cut across the stage, and he ducked down below the podium. Advertisement 'Get down, get down, get down!' a male voice shouted from behind me, directed at the president. 9 Crooks was quickly neutralized by officers after he attempted to kill Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania just over a year ago. Obtained by NY Post My initial thought was that the podium would not protect him — please, someone get there to protect him. Please let no one be hurt. It never once occurred to me that I might be one of them. I was frozen, still staring at the president seconds later, when we heard a second round of four shots. By then, President Trump was surrounded by a sea of navy-blue: at least a half dozen Secret Service agents formed a protective shield around him. From the huddle, I could hear a female agent say, 'What are we doing? What are we doing?' Then, 'Where are we going . . .' and the sound of her voice was muffled. Advertisement Michael shouted as the second four shots went off: 'Those were gunshots!' He tackled Shannon to the ground and dropped on top of her. The next thing I knew, I was knocked off my feet and shoved to the ground by lead Trump press advance man Michel Picard III. Hovering over me, he held me down, his knees pressed against my shins. My face landed in the dirt and gravel, and the rest of my body covered my daughter. 'Are you okay? Are you okay?' Picard shouted at the three of us. Then he lowered his voice and took a deep breath. I could hear him slowly exhale to regain control. 9 Trump campaign advance person Michel Picard and members of the press take cover following the attempted assassination against Trump. Getty Images 'Stay down. I got you. Stay still, stay calm,' Picard said. His voice was soothing, but his hands told a different story; he was shaking hard. I watched him look down at his hands as he tried to stifle the adrenaline. I was still just feet away from the president. From my vantage point, I could see the huddle of blue suits surrounding him; I saw his bloody face between the gaggle of men and women around him. An agent said, 'Go around to the spare, go around to the spare . . . hold, hold, when you're ready, on two.' Or maybe he said, 'When you're ready, on you.' I wasn't sure. Time seemed to stop. Everything occurred in slow motion. The crowd, eerily, was not screaming, not really. In fact, it sounded like they were still cheering. On the ground, with gravel digging into my legs and arms, I could hear only one woman screaming. Her screams were primal — I don't know if she was hurt, if someone she loved was hurt, or if the trauma was too much for her. It seemed like she was moving around in the stands behind me, moving toward something that was across from me. Her screams were gut-wrenching. 9 Confusion and chaos at the scene of the Trump shooting, which spared Trump's life, but caused the death of a young father who was caught in the crossfire. Shannon Venditti Advertisement One or two of the last four shots sounded like they came from a different-caliber gun. I could hear President Trump talking back and forth with members of his detail, who were still tightly circling him. At least three male voices were talking. One said, 'Ready. Move up.' A different one said, 'Go, go, go!' But they remained crouched down. Another agent said, 'Hawkeye's here, moving to the spare.' 'Spare, get ready. Spare, get ready,' said the agent who, from my vantage point, seemed to be the lead. At least two, maybe three of the agents then shouted, 'Shooter's down. Shooter's down — are we good to move?' Advertisement A male voice answered, 'Shooter's down. We're good to move.' A female agent asked, 'Are we clear?' Someone said yes, they were clear to move. Their protective circle became mobile as they stood up with Trump, keeping a circle around him. I heard Trump say, 'Let me get my shoes, let me get my shoes.' 9 Pres. Trump approaches the stage to address his supporters on that fateful day in Butler, PA. Shannon Venditti An agent said something like, 'I got you, sir,' and Trump said again, 'Let me get my shoes on.' Advertisement I could see Trump's silhouette, and it looked like he was trying to put on his shoes, which one of the agents had knocked off. An agent told him, 'Hold on, sir, your head is bloody.' Trump was insistent. 'Let me get my shoes.' A female agent relented. 'OK.' As they slowly started to move, I heard Trump say, 'USA! USA! USA!' The detail raised him to face the crowd. He lifted his fist, pumping the air: 'Fight. Fight. Fight.' His voice was raspy. The crowd erupted in joy and relief. Advertisement An agent urged, 'We got to move, we got to move.' 9 Barely days after he was shot and almost died, Trump returned to Pennsylvania where he rallied his voters during as his re-election campaign carried on through last summer. Shannon Venditti They exited the stage, and I saw him raise his fist again three times. The crowd was shouting now: 'USA! USA!' as he and the agents headed toward where I was lying on the ground. A Secret Service agent in full camouflage crouched over me, looking into my eyes, and aimed his AR-style rifle directly at me as the president made his way toward me. The agent and I exchanged glances, but I was oddly not afraid. Trump and all the agents moved past me. I could barely see his face, but I saw enough to notice the blood running down his cheek. Press Secretary Picard hadn't moved. He was still on top of me, in a protective stance, and I could feel his knee digging into my calf. I thought, That's going to leave a mark. My daughter, Shannon and son-in-law Michael were still underneath us. Shannon and I both tried to take photos, but Picard and Michael were having none of it. 'We don't know if there is another shooter,' Picard said firmly, so we didn't move. Trump did not have his MAGA [Make America Great Again] hat on as they moved him past me. I saw his hat fall at some point while they were huddling. An agent miraculously grabbed the hat before it touched the ground and was still holding onto it while holding onto the former president. I turned just enough to see past the loudspeaker that was behind us and watched the agents help Trump get into a vehicle, which they then surrounded. The motorcade paused for a moment, and then he was gone. 9 Author Salena Zito walking with Pres. Trump when he returned to Butler, PA in October of last year. Zito says that she and Trump enjoy chatting about their grandchildren Graeme Jennings I thought back to the early morning. None of what had been planned that day had placed the three of us in the buffer zone by the president. I let out what I thought was going to be a deep sigh, but it somehow turned into that kind of little laugh you have when your day has gone haywire. Shannon said, 'Are you okay?' I laughed just a little bit again; it felt like the only release I had in me at that moment. 'Yeah, I'm okay. Remember when the thing I was most worried about this morning was getting here on time?' Excerpted from Butler by Salena Zito. (Copyright 2025) Used with permission from Center Street, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
