Clinton makes surprise appearance at Zelienople bookstore while visiting area to campaign Saturday
Former President Bill Clinton made an unexpected stop Saturday, Nov. 2, at Zelienople’s Little Green Bookstore for a chat about books.
Clinton was in Butler County in support of the Harris-Walz campaign, speaking with members of the Steamfitters Local 449 Technology Center in Jackson Township.
The 25-minute visit to the bookstore, 104 N. Main St., was a surprise, according to owner Christine Border, in a post to Facebook.
“Today, as President Clinton drove by the store on his way to an event, he told his staff he wanted to stop by the store,” she wrote. “They literally turned the bus around.”
Border said Main Street was closed as the entourage found parking and cleared the area. Clinton’s bus was accompanied by several police cars and other vehicles.
“A staffer came in to ask if we would mind if a ‘political figure’ came in, but we weren’t told who it was,” she said. “But then we figured it out.”
Clinton stayed long enough for a conversation, but not about politics.
“No politics discussed. No campaigning,” Border wrote in her Facebook post. “We talked about books on the shelves. Made recommendations to each other. And with the exception of a lot of excitement in town outside the store, no one would have even known what was happening.”
Clinton was accompanied by three or four Secret Service agents as well as two staffers, Border said. Six customers already in the shop stayed during the visit, she said.
Border said her shop serves as “an escape” from political tensions for people on both sides of the aisle — even, apparently, a former president.
“It was not a campaign stop,” Border wrote. “It was a stop for an avid reader/author to stop by and talk books. And we did! And it was lovely.”
Clinton purchased two books, “Middle of the Night” by Riley Sager and “The Twist of a Knife” by Anthony Horowitz.
While the street was closed to traffic, a group of Trump supporters had assembled, presumably to display their opposition as the Harris-Walz bus passed on its way to Jackson Township, Border said.
But the president’s stop at the bookstore changed their plans.
“They came up to the president as he was leaving and wanted to shake his hand. They thanked him for his service to the country,” Border said. “It was a great day.”
