It’s been almost two weeks since an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump left him wounded and his campaign reborn.
The internet has run rampant with conspiracy theories about the shooting, ranging from the number of shooters who were involved, whether it was staged, and even if Trump was actually hit with a bullet. Some of those theories have been brought into the mainstream by officials, while others remain on the fringier parts of the internet.
Here is a brief look at some of the conspiracy theories surrounding the first attempt on a current or former president in 40 years.
The notion that Trump wasn’t shot but rather was hit with shrapnel or glass has been a popular theory floating around, and even FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before Congress that he wasn’t certain if Trump was struck by a bullet in his ear.
“I think with respect to former President Trump there’s some question about whether or not it’s a bullet or shrapnel that, you know, hit his ear,” Wray said during his testimony.
The investigation is ongoing as the FBI’s Shooting Reconstruction Team is examining bullet fragments found near the scene.
However, an analysis by the New York Times revealed Trump being hit by shrapnel rather than a bullet is very unlikely because the bullet had “traveled in a straight line from the gunman to the bleachers,” only having clipped Trump, not spraying him with debris.
Days after the assassination attempt on Trump, MSNBC host Joy Reid insinuated that the bullet may have struck the glass podium.
“We still don’t know for sure whether Donald Trump was hit by a bullet, whether he was hit by glass fragments, whether he was hit by shrapnel — we don’t have those details,” Reid said.
Even just a few days ago, former ESPN anchor Keith Olbermann took to X claiming no evidence existed that Trump was hit by a bullet.
Many theorists are pointing to the fact that Trump’s campaign has not released official medical documentation, a possible privacy violation, as evidence that he wasn’t hit by a bullet. The former president has also not appeared in public without a bandage over his ear, and no photos of his injury have been released. However, there are several photos of Trump in the moments after the event clearly covered in blood.
In a partial refutation of the skeptics, Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX), Trump’s former White House physician, said in a letter, “Based on direct observations of the injury, my relevant clinical background, and my significant experience evaluating and treating patients with similar wounds, I completely concur with the initial assessment and treatment provided by the doctors and nurses at Butler Memorial Hospital on the day of the shooting.”
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“There was initially significant bleeding, followed by marked swelling of the entire upper ear,” Jackson continued in the letter. “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.”
Jackson told the Washington Examiner it was irresponsible for Wray to cast doubt Trump wasn’t hit by a bullet.