A Theory Claims It Wasn't a Bullet That Hit Donald Trump — Here's What People Are Saying
"With respect to former President Trump, there's some question about whether or not it's a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear," FBI director Christopher Wray said.
Updated July 26 2024, 6:23 p.m. ET
You may have seen some rumors going around online about the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, which happened on July 13 during a Pennsylvania rally in which a 20-year-old gunman named Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on the former president, wounding him in the ear.
After the incident, in which one rally-goer was killed and two others seriously injured, there were some reports that suggested it may not have been a bullet that hit Trump.
Here's what to know...
FBI director Christopher Wray said during his testimony that "there's some question about whether or not it's a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear."
There's a theory that Trump was not hit by a bullet, but rather by glass or shrapnel.
In the aftermath of the shooting attempt on Trump, one source told TMZ that instead of a bullet, it was actually fragments of broken glass from a teleprompter that hit Trump.
Some other news sits reported about this as well. But outlets like Snopes pointed out that there were no photographs showing damage to the teleprompters, and that the New York Times actually seemed to capture a photo of one of the bullets whizzing by Trump's head.
There's also the fact that Trump's doctor released a statement via Trump's campaign in which he confirmed that the former president had been hit by a bullet that was "less than a quarter of an inch from entering his head, and struck the top of his right ear."
Trump himself took to Truth Social after the incident as well, stating that he'd been "shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of [his] right ear." He added in his post: "I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin."
But the not-a-bullet theories seemed to spring back up again on July 24, when FBI director Christopher Wray testified in front of the House Judiciary Committee about the investigation into the assassination attempt. When asked whether all the bullets had been covered, Wray said (per TMZ), "With respect to former President Trump, there's some question about whether or not it's a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear."
Trump hit back against Wray's claims, and on July 26, the FBI released a statement that seemed to walk back on what Wray said. "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 statement read.
Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on July 26
That same day, Trump was seen without his ear bandage for the first time in weeks, as he sat for a meeting with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump's ear looked to be in a good condition. Trump's doctor put out a statement that day as well, saying there is "absolutely no evidence that it was anything other than a bullet."
