Former President Donald Trump claims his life was spared in an assassination attempt at his campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, simply by moving his head at a crucial moment.
“I got shot through the top of my right ear. I knew right away that something was wrong, I heard a whistling sound, gunshots, and I immediately felt the bullet tearing the skin,” the former president said in a post on Truth Social. “There was a lot of bleeding, so I knew what was going on.”
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Minutes into Trump’s speech at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, there were loud banging noises as people scrambled to safety. Trump appeared to hold his ear and fell to the ground. When he got back up, surrounded by Secret Service agents, blood was streaming down his face.
Trump told former White House physician Dr. Ronny Jackson that a slight tilt of his head to face his presentation saved his life during the attack.
I spoke to OUR President last night. He is doing well and as STRONG as ever. Thank God he is doing well! If you were wondering, your questions were answered last night, he IS THE WARRIOR this country MUST have to survive. God bless Trump and God bless America!
— Ronny Jackson (@RonnyJacksonTX) July 14, 2024
“That chart that I looked at saved my life,” Trump told Jackson by phone hours after the assassination attempt, according to The New York Times. “He said, ‘If I hadn’t pointed at that chart and turned my head to look at it, that bullet would have hit me in the head.’”
Jackson shared on X, formerly Twitter, that his nephew was also injured at the rally.
“Thankfully, his injury was not serious and he is doing well. My family was sitting in the front seat, near where the President was speaking,” Jackson wrote. “They heard gunshots. My nephew then realized he had blood on his neck and that something had grazed and cut him.”
Images of the bullet’s potential trajectory have infiltrated social media.
A last-minute, millisecond tilt of the head likely saved Donald Trump’s life.
If Trump had not moved his head, the bullet would likely have pierced the back of his head. pic.twitter.com/sRLBEH8gxp
— CatholicVote (@CatholicVote) July 14, 2024
A photo taken by New York Times Photographer Doug Mills appears to show the bullet “flying through the air” next to former President Donald Trump’s head.
The image shows a gray line just above Trump’s left shoulder. Another photo taken by Mills shows Trump placing his hand over his ear, while a third image shows blood on his hand.
Trump went to Bethel Memorial Hospital to treat his injuries. State police vehicles were seen blocking the entrance as supporters stood outside the hospital to express their wishes for his recovery. One woman, Ash Nix, held a sign that read, “Wishing Trump a long, terrible recovery!”
“The only sad thing is if something happened to him, he would become a martyr. And we don’t want that,” Nix told local station WTAJ-TV.
The former president was released from the hospital later that night, and he still plans to attend the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee next week, his campaign and the RNC said Saturday night.
The shooter was identified by authorities as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.
CBS
Fraudsters allegedly killed Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old volunteer firefighter from Sarver, Pennsylvania. The two surviving victims, David Dutch, 57, of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, and James Copenhaver, 74, of Moon Township, Pennsylvania, were listed in stable condition, authorities said.
More than $3.36 million was raised in the 24 hours following the shooting for the victims and their families through two separate GoFundMe campaigns.
Do you have a story? Newsweek Have questions about this story? Contact LiveNews@newsweek.com
Uncommon knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
