--- title: Trump's Ear Wound: What We Do and Don't Know description: What Trump, the FBI, and a doctor have said about his ear injury from the assassination attempt. canonical: https://time.com/7003617/trump-ear-injury-shooting-details/ copyright: © 2026 TIME USA, LLC. All Rights Reserved. terms: https://legal.time.com/terms-of-service/ license_contact: syndication@time.com author: Simmone Shah article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-07-25T20:04:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-01-19T09:02:59.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: What We Do and Don't Know About Trump's Ear Wound og:description: What Trump, the FBI, and a doctor have said about his ear injury from the assassination attempt. og:url: https://time.com/7003617/trump-ear-injury-shooting-details/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcca2d92fa3ad9a07/698a593edb2987ba2c26be8e/GettyImages-2162235665.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Donald Trump And J.D. Vance Hold First Joint Campaign Rally After The RNC og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What We Do and Don't Know About Trump's Ear Wound twitter:description: What Trump, the FBI, and a doctor have said about his ear injury from the assassination attempt. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcca2d92fa3ad9a07/698a593edb2987ba2c26be8e/GettyImages-2162235665.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What We Do and Don't Know About Trump's Ear Wound > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=5c564927-0155-4bfd-b425-368c3a665774&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: ‘I’m Not Supposed to Be Here.’ Trump Gives First Detailed Account of Shooting in RNC Speech [Watch (HLS stream): ‘I’m Not Supposed to Be Here.’ Trump Gives First Detailed Account of Shooting in RNC Speech](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/UGDhRHI1.m3u8) (6:13)  _Published 2024-07-19. Just five days after surviving an assassination attempt, former President Donald Trump took to the stage at the Republican National Convention Thursday night to accept his party’s nomination for a third consecutive presidential bid._ by [Simmone Shah](https://time.com/author/simmone-shah/) and [Olivia-Anne Cleary](https://time.com/author/olivia-anne-cleary/) Updated: Jan 19, 2026 9:02 AM UTCPublished: Jul 25, 2024 8:04 PM UTC Just five days after surviving an assassination attempt, former President Donald Trump took to the stage at the Republican National Convention Thursday night to accept his party’s nomination for a third consecutive presidential bid. by [Simmone Shah](https://time.com/author/simmone-shah/) and [Olivia-Anne Cleary](https://time.com/author/olivia-anne-cleary/) Updated: Jan 19, 2026 9:02 AM UTCPublished: Jul 25, 2024 8:04 PM UTC Trump’s ear wound from [an assassination attempt at a rally](https://time.com/6998302/trump-rally-shooting-2/) on July 13 quickly became [a symbol of solidarity](https://time.com/7000028/ear-bandage-fashion-trend-republicans-convention-rnc-trump-shooting/) for many of his supporters, and a grim reminder of political violence in the U.S. Trump’s team has largely remained tight-lipped about the ear wound, refraining from publicly sharing the former President’s medical records or conducting a press briefing at the Pennsylvania hospital where he was treated. The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment. But comments by FBI Director Christopher Wray on July 24 indicated there might be more the American public did not know about the injury. Wray suggested in congressional testimony that the wound may have been caused by shrapnel, while Trump and his former White House physician had said it was caused by a bullet. Amid the ongoing public discourse, on July 26, the FBI released a statement directly addressing what struck Trump during the assassination attempt. Here’s what we know about Trump’s ear wound. ## **FBI releases a statement** On Friday, July 26, the FBI released a statement addressing Trump's ear injury. “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,” the agency said, [per the Washington _Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/07/26/trump-bullet-shot-assassination-attempt/). Trump [issued a response via his own social media](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/112854812775068777) platform, Truth Social. Alongside a re-post of the statement, he wrote: "I assume that’s the best apology that we'll get from Director Wray, but it is fully accepted!" ## **Wray said it might be from shrapnel** During a House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, July 24, Wray provided new details about the investigation into the assassination attempt and revealed that the agency is not certain the wound was caused by a bullet. “There’s some question about whether or not it’s a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear,” he said. **Read More:** [_America’s Political Violence Crisis_](https://time.com/6999810/political-violence-america-trump-rally/) ## **Trump has not released his medical records** In the immediate aftermath of the shooting in Butler, Pa., Trump was treated at Butler Memorial Hospital, but his team did not share details of his wound or care. Doctors at the hospital were not made available for a press conference or questions, and Trump has not released his medical records from the treatment. ## **Former White House physician said it was caused by a bullet** On July 20, a week after the shooting, Trump shared a signed letter from former White House physician Ronny Jackson, now a Republican congressman from Texas, who released new details about the injury and claimed that the wound was caused by a gunshot wound. In the letter, Jackson said Trump had a 2 cm-wide gunshot wound in the right ear from a high-powered rifle. “There was initially significant bleeding, followed by marked swelling of the entire upper ear,” Jackson wrote. “The swelling has since resolved, and the wound is beginning to granulate and heal properly. Based on the highly vascular nature of the ear, there is still intermittent bleeding requiring a dressing to be in place. Given the broad and blunt nature of the wound itself, no sutures were required.” He said that Trump received a thorough evaluation—including a CT scan— at Butler Memorial Hospital, and will undergo further evaluations, including a hearing test. Jackson slammed Wray on X after Wray’s testimony, saying it was “absolutely irresponsible” for Wray to suggest the injury may have been caused by shrapnel. “IT WAS A BULLET — I’VE SEEN THE WOUND!” Jackson [wrote](https://twitter.com/RonnyJacksonTX/status/1816503874783514866). “PATHETIC!!! Jackson is a Trump ally and has come under fire in recent years after a Pentagon inspector general’s report [revealed allegations](https://www.dodig.mil/reports.html/Article/2522300/report-of-investigation-rear-admiral-lower-half-ronny-lynn-jackson-md-us-navy-r/) that Jackson had engaged in “inappropriate conduct” as White House physician. ## **Trump’s descriptions of the shooting** Trump has made some comments about his experience. On the evening of Thursday, July 25, he pushed back against Wray’s comments, asserting that it was in fact a bullet that hit him. “FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress yesterday that he wasn’t sure if I was hit by shrapnel, glass, or a bullet (the FBI never even checked!), but he was sure that Crooked Joe Biden was physically and cognitively “uneventful” - Wrong!” he wrote in a [post](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/112850202227985061) on Truth Social. “No, it was, unfortunately, a bullet that hit my ear, and hit it hard. There was no glass, there was no shrapnel. The hospital called it a “bullet wound to the ear,” and that is what it was.” In [a speech at the Republican convention](https://time.com/7000347/donald-trump-rnc-speech-highlights/) on July 18, Trump, the Republican nominee, said that a bullet “came within a quarter of an inch of taking my life." “I said to myself, wow, what was that, it can only be a bullet, and moved my right hand to my ear, brought it down,” he said. “The amazing thing is that prior to the shot, if I had not moved my head at that very last instant, the assassin’s bullet would have perfectly hit its mark and I would not be here tonight.” In a social media post after the rally on July 13, Trump [wrote](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/112782066045321247), “I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear. I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening.” In [a private phone call](https://time.com/6999185/donald-trump-rfk-jr-call-vaccines/) with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that was posted online, Trump said that in the moment, the object whizzing past him at the rally felt like “the world’s largest mosquito.” Eric Trump, the former President’s son, told [CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/assassination-attempt-trump-rally-shooting-ear-doesnt-have-stitches-nice-flesh-wound-eric-trump/) that his father has referred to the injury as "the greatest earache he's ever had," but that he did not require stitches and that his hearing is fine. ## Transcript Friends, delegates and fellow citizens, I stand before you this evening with a message of confidence, strength, and hope. Four months from now, we will have an incredible victory, and we will begin the four greatest years in the history of our country. Together, we will launch a new era of safety, prosperity, and freedom for citizens of every race, religion, color and creed. The discord and division in our society must be healed. We must heal it quickly. As Americans, we are bound together by a single fate and a shared destiny. We rise together or we fall apart. I am running to be president for all of America, not half of America, because there is no victory in winning for half of America. So tonight with faith and devotion, I proudly accept your nomination for president of the United States. Thank you. It was a warm, beautiful day in the early evening in Butler Township, in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Music was loudly playing, and the campaign was doing really well. I went to the stage and the crowd was cheering wildly. Everybody was happy. I began speaking very strongly, powerfully, and happily. Because I was discussing the great job my administration did on immigration at the Southern border. We were very proud of it. Behind me and to the right, was a large screen that was displaying a chart of border crossings under my leadership. The numbers were absolutely amazing. In order to see the chart, I started to like this, turn to my right. And was ready to begin a little bit further, turn, which I'm very lucky I didn't do. When I heard a loud, whizzing sound and felt something hit me, really, really hard on my right ear. I said to myself, Wow, what was that? It can only be a bullet and moved my right hand to my ear, brought it down. My hand was covered with blood. Just absolutely blood all over the place. I immediately knew it was very serious that we were under attack. And in one movement proceeded to drop to the ground. Bullets were continuing to fly. As very brave secret service agents rushed to the stage, and they really did. They rushed to the stage. These are great people at great risk, I will tell you, and pounced on top of me so that I would be protected. There was blood pouring everywhere, and yet, in a certain way, I felt very safe because I had God on my side. I felt that. The amazing thing is that prior to the shot, if I had not moved my head at that very last instant, the assassin's bullet would have perfectly hit its mark. And I would not be here tonight. We would not be together. The most incredible aspect of what took place on that terrible evening in the fading sun was actually seen later. In almost all cases, as you probably know, and when even a single bullet is fired, just a single bullet, and we had many bullets that were being fired. Crowds run for the exits or stampede, but not in this case. It was very unusual. They're incredible people. Bullets were flying over us. Yet I felt serene, but now the secret service agents were putting themselves in peril. They were in very dangerous territory. Bullets were flying right over them missing them by a very small amount of inches. And then it all stopped our secret service sniper from a much greater distance, and with only one bullet used, took the assassin's life, took them out. I'm not supposed to be here tonight. 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