The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has confirmed that former US President Donald Trump was struck by a bullet or a fragment of one during an assassination attempt at a campaign rally this month. This announcement settles the questions surrounding the nature of Trump’s injury.
In a statement issued on Friday, the FBI clarified, “What struck former president Trump in the ear was a bullet, whether whole or fragmented into smaller pieces, fired from the deceased subject’s rifle.” Trump sustained the injury on July 13 during a rally in Pennsylvania, where his right ear was seen covered in blood.
The FBI has classified the incident as an assassination attempt, noting that the gunman fired eight bullets from outside the event’s security perimeter. Initially, FBI chief Christopher Wray expressed uncertainty, telling lawmakers that it was unclear if Trump’s injury was caused by a bullet or shrapnel.
Following the FBI’s statement, Trump took to his Truth Social platform, saying, “I assume that’s the best apology that we’ll get from Director Wray, but it is fully accepted!” He also shared a letter from his former White House doctor, Ronny Jackson, who asserted that the injury was almost certainly caused by a bullet. Jackson, now a Republican congressman from Texas, stated, “There is absolutely no evidence that it was anything other than a bullet.”
The attack resulted in two rally attendees being seriously wounded, and a 50-year-old Pennsylvania firefighter was shot dead. The gunman was killed by a US Secret Service sniper.
Since the incident, Trump has incorporated the attack into his campaign narrative, telling a crowd in Michigan that he “took a bullet for democracy.” At the Republican National Convention, where he was nominated as the party’s presidential candidate, Trump claimed he had “God on my side” during the attack.
Trump supporters have shown solidarity by wearing bandages on their right ears at his rallies, referencing the injury he sustained. On Thursday, Trump refuted Wray’s earlier comments, insisting, “It was, unfortunately, a bullet that hit my ear, and hit it hard. There was no glass, there was no shrapnel.”
A New York Times investigation published on Friday supported the FBI’s findings, suggesting that Trump was grazed by the first of eight bullets fired by the gunman. Despite the confirmation, Trump’s campaign has not released any medical reports or statements from his current physician, relying instead on Jackson’s account.
