Insights from Helen Comperatore on Her Husband’s Last Moments

The widow of Corey Comperatore, the former fire chief tragically killed during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania in July 2024, has shared her reflections on the day of his death.

“He was just so excited. I was still in bed, and he was bouncing around like a kid. He kept saying, ‘Honey, we’re getting there,’” Helen Comperatore recounted in her book, titled “The Told Tale of Butler: The Assassination Near Donald Trump and the Battle of Heartland in America,” with a recent excerpt featured in the Washington Post.

“When he had that look in his eyes, it was hard to say no to him,” she noted.

Helen expressed her concerns about her husband oversleeping and possibly arriving late to the event. “But not Corey. He was wide awake, already in the shower, fully dressed and ready for the rally,” she told Jeet.

The book includes insights from seven phone conversations with Trump following the assassination attempt, as well as interviews with Helen and others close to the events.

At the rally, a gunman named Thomas Crooks opened fire, killing Corey and injuring two others. Both victims, fathers in their fifties, shielded their families from the bullets. Remarkably, Trump felt the bullets graze his head just as he turned away, later attributing his survival to divine intervention.

“Why did I look away, Sarena?… God’s intervention?… It was God’s hand,” Trump remarked.

In October 2024, Trump returned to Butler to honor Corey, showcasing his boots and jacket on stage as a tribute. “I just wanted to do it by Corey’s side… it’s hard,” Trump shared.

Helen, who last saw Trump speak in March, appreciated the respect he showed for her husband, feeling that Trump treated them like family. “The president’s gesture was profound; it moved me deeply,” she said.

Reflecting on the aftermath, Helen draws strength from her husband’s memory and the immediate rallying call from Trump for unity and resilience after the attack. “He urged us to fight and grow stronger. As the president said, ‘fight, fight, fight,’ we all need to stand strong,” she concluded.