Is It Harder to Kill People You Know?

I don't recall if anyone on Ricochet wrote a review of Salena Zito's book, Butler: The Untold Story of the Near Assassination of Donald Trump and the Fight for America's Heartland (Center Street, 2025). If someone did (I'm too lazy to research), I hope they agreed with me that it's a fine book, one worth reading. I hope that the review dug into the very interesting details the book examined about the 2024 election, the importance of the demographic shifts in rural America, and the failure of the current media to understand their fellow Americans.

But I want to focus on something else: Zito's ability to humanize many of the players in her book, particularly Donald Trump.

Particularly touching is the moment when Trump, the candidate, the day after he received a gunshot wound on that fateful day in Butler, Pennsylvania, telephoned Zito to apologize for missing the scheduled interview after the campaign event. Originally, Zito was supposed to interview Trump before the event, but Trump's campaign staff had to make a rearrangement.

Zito, her daughter, and her son-in-law were all seated close to the stage and witnessed the shooting, which took place as Trump began his speech. After the shooting (and the murder of firefighter Corey Comperatore), Trump was quickly rushed to a hospital. Zito reported on the event and eventually was able to return home.

And at her home, she was very surprised by a phone call from the former and soon again president apologizing, then asking about her welfare and the welfare of her daughter and son-in-law. She was so surprised that she found herself swearing at the candidate, "What the [bleep] are you doing calling me?" She apologized for her language, to Trump's amusement.

The Trump presented to us by the majority of media accounts is a narcissist, a self-centered monster who cares only about his image, power, and comfort. Zito presents a very different person in her book. She tells of a man who loves his grandchildren and inquires about Zito's grandchildren. A man at campaign events who greets his supporters with affection and kindness. A man who genuinely cares about his country and its citizens.

Zito also presents negative qualities in Trump. After Zito did an interview with Trump's rival in the primary, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Trump lashed out at her on social media as a horrible reporter. But that flash of temper didn't last long.

When one looks at the hate and vitriol spewed at Trump in the media (mainstream and social), one can't help but wonder if that would change if people saw this other side of the man. Might they say, "I don't agree with the man's policies, but I would hate to see him come to any harm."? I know, it's hard to imagine.

Zito also presents a more kindly image of Vice President J. D. Vance than one usually gets in the media. At a visit to a medical training class, Vance observed students learning to take blood by practicing on each other. One student was very wary of letting another student draw her blood, so Vance stepped in and offered to take the student's place. The teacher allowed it, and the student who drew blood was successful on the first try.

Republicans aren't the only ones who come off well in the book. Zito writes quite kindly of Democrat Governor Josh Shapiro, portraying him as a leader with genuine concern for the good of his constituents, a man who, according to Zito (again using language of the blue variety), "he gets poop done."

How much of our culture would be healed if we didn't assume the worst about those with differing politics? If we really saw our opponents as people?

Even excerpts of Kamala Harris' new memoir make me see the former vice president in a more humane light. She was reprimanding staff for not properly preparing her for an interview, saying, "What the [redacted] was that?" When someone tried to respond, she said, "That was a rhetorical question!" It became a running gag with her staff to say, "That was a rhetorical question."

Now, Harris might not come across as particularly sympathetic in that story, but she does come across as human (I'm not the first to make the comparison to Selina Meyer in the HBO sitcom Veep). When I hear a story like this, I'm glad she's not our president, but I also see her as a real person. And I wish no harm to come to her.

So am I a fool to think that political violence would decrease if more people saw the people on the other side as people? People not bent on evil, but just trying to do what is right in their own eyes?

Maybe it would deter a sniper or two if they looked at things in such a way.

On the other hand, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in a 2023 study, said that 36% of women murdered were killed by an "intimate partner." So, while I think it might help if we knew each other better, there's no guarantee.