Trump shot in ear
Executive summary
Donald Trump was grazed in the upper part of his right ear during an assassination attempt at a Butler, Pennsylvania rally on July 13, 2024, and the FBI later confirmed that a bullet — not merely debris — struck his ear [1][2]. The immediate aftermath produced photographic evidence of blood and intense public debate, conflicting official comments about the wound’s cause, subsequent medical commentary that the ear healed without surgery, and a wave of misinformation that circulated online [3][4][5].
1. What happened at the rally: the shot and the immediate response
On July 13, 2024, a gunman firing from a nearby rooftop struck former president and then–Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in the upper part of his right ear while he spoke at an open-air event near Butler, Pennsylvania, with multiple rounds fired and at least one victim in the crowd killed and others wounded as Secret Service and local law enforcement moved to neutralize the shooter [1][6][7].
2. Who said what: official and eyewitness accounts
Trump himself said within hours that he had been “shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear,” and photographs from the scene showed blood near his ear and him later appearing at the Republican National Convention with a bandage on that ear [4][1]. Initial public comments from law‑enforcement leadership included ambiguous phrasing — FBI Director Christopher Wray suggested the possibility of shrapnel — but the FBI issued a one‑sentence confirmation nearly two weeks later stating a bullet had struck Trump’s ear [4][2].
3. Medical and expert observations after the fact
A plastic surgeon who examined images of Trump’s ear months later described a slight distortion consistent with tissue loss or repair along the outer edge of the ear and concluded it healed well without surgery, while other medical details and full hospital records have not been publicly released by the Trump team, leaving some clinical specifics unavailable to reporters [5][4].
4. The misinformation battle and photographic evidence
False or misleading posts quickly circulated claiming Trump’s ear was undamaged, including an old photo from 2022 presented as evidence that he had not been hit; fact‑checks showed that photo predated the attack and could not rebut the contemporaneous images documenting blood and the wound [3]. Other hoaxes, like a viral claim that his ear “regrew” the next day, were debunked by fact‑checkers who found no authentic social‑media post making that assertion [8].
5. Political context, competing narratives, and agendas
The attack was immediately framed in political terms: commentators and political actors linked it to polarization and called for de‑escalation while allies emphasized his survival and opponents warned about security failures; the Secret Service’s position and the incident’s use in campaign messaging reflect competing incentives to either underscore vulnerability or project resilience, and different outlets highlighted details that served those narratives [1][4]. Investigative reporting and later analyses have also examined whether responder actions prevented greater casualties, a line of inquiry that carries both public‑safety and political implications [7].
6. What is settled and what remains unclear
Settled facts: a gunman fired from a rooftop, Trump sustained a wound to his upper right ear, photographs show blood and he wore a bandage days later, and the FBI confirmed a bullet struck his ear [1][3][2]. Remaining uncertainties include the full clinical details of his treatment, the precise ballistic path and tissue damage beyond surface descriptions, and some tactical questions about security preparations that have become part of later investigations and commentary [4][7].