Posted on 01/20/2025 6:42:16 PM PST by Hojczyk
What I remember most is how Trump came alive on shop floors, speaking to steelworkers, truckers, and plumbers. He really listened to the kind of people who historically voted Democrat. It didn’t surprise me when he got the GOP nomination for president—beating people like Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz.
Then, on September 1, 2016, I decided to take a buyout from the paper where I had worked for 11 years, because I figured the next stage would be layoffs. I remember walking out of the building and thinking, I’m 57 years old, and there’s no job for me. Mine wasn’t the only local paper that was shrinking. And then, a couple weeks later, I got a call from one of Trump’s campaign advisers, an old friend I knew from when we worked together for Senator Specter.
He said: “Do you want an interview with Trump tomorrow?”
I couldn’t believe my luck.
The next day, I wore cowboy boots. I remember feeling like my big hair was like a rat’s nest. Trump wore a dark suit. We met in a backstage room at the Shale Insight Conference at Pittsburgh’s main convention center, where he was scheduled to make an appearance to talk about how to Make America Great Again. It was September 22, just six weeks until the election.
When I first saw him, he struck me as polite and well-mannered. He made good eye contact and asked me questions about my family, congratulating me on becoming a grandmother. When I asked him about his relationship with the media, he said, “You know, I consider myself to be a nice person. And I am not sure they ever like to talk about that.”
Afterward, he took me on a tour of the complex, introducing me to the people there—oil and gas workers from Texas, Colorado, and Pennsylvania. They were all in casual clothing—a lot of flannel, no suits. Trump pumped their hands and asked them questions about what they do, seeming genuinely interested in their answers. I could see how a billionaire could connect with the American working class. People like this worked for him and his father on construction sites and hel
Great Article…by a great reporter
https://www.thefp.com/p/my-decade-with-donald-trump-salena-zito?utm_medium=organic-social
bttt
Specter ping
...And then, a couple weeks later, I got a call from one of Trump’s campaign advisers, an old friend I knew from when we worked together for Senator Specter.
He said: “Do you want an interview with Trump tomorrow?”
I couldn’t believe my luck....
Mark
Bookmark
Thank you for posting this.
“What I remember most is how Trump came alive on shop floors, speaking to steelworkers, truckers, and plumbers. He really listened to the kind of people who historically voted Democrat.”
I remember hearing that when he was 12 years old, he would go to his father’s job sites and talk with the Working Class. There has NEVER been anyone like him at the top, in either party.
>> Great Article…by a great reporter
Agree. I became a Salena Zito fan years ago. She’s a MODEL reporter. She INVESTIGATES and REPORTS. I remember her work on the PA senator campaign trail, following Oz. She did great work this election cycle. I’m happy she’s getting the recognition she deserves.
I like your tag line!
Many thanks for bringing us this captivating article.
thanks for pointing out what i might otherwise had missed. it is a great modern tag line illustrating an ancient truth
Good story! And explains how billionaires become billionaires.
Great read.... thanks for posting
Selena Zito has been a rare example of a good “journalist”. She appeared at a time when most of us believed no such thing existed anymore.
I think she inspired MANY more “real journalist”. I know Rush loved her. And then, I understood why.
My wife looks a lot like that. :-)
Honestly, I’m in tears after finishing reading this entire story.
EVERYONE who gives a crap about DJT, who has been trying to explain him to crazy libs for the past 9 years, needs to read this story... and, SEND IT to everyone they know.
He is the hardest working, most DECENT man in our lives.... he’s been vilified for challenging a failing, corrupt Status Quo.
Our Lord God sent us this WARRIOR in a critical time. I don’t know any other way to look at this.
THANK YOU, DJT. Thank you Salena.
But that nit aside, an excellent article.
I have been arguing this point with people who wonder how a billionaire can understand the life of working class people. Unlike other billionaires who get their fortune by inventing somethinh using computers or by playing in the financial sectors, Trump got his money from construction. As such, he needed to interact with many workers, including the construction workers, electricians, and so on.
thanx for that...
I asked myself a similar question. They had Article V, the Convention Of States, why didn't they use that? Turns out they tried but it was too little too late . After a terrible bloody war the Constitution got amended by the winning side. Such a shame . A Convention of States could have saved all that bloodshed but both sides were too worried the other would come out on top.
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