Former President Donald Trump on Thursday told reporters that his right ear that was shot during an assassination attempt at a July rally has “pretty much” healed.
The former president held a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, delivering comments on a range of issues related to the 2024 campaign. At one point, he was asked about whether his ear has been fully recovered.
He added that he “got very lucky,” adding, “It just hit the lobe, as they call it.”
When asked if there is a scar on his ear, he responded in the affirmative.
While Trump was speaking at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, a gunman opened fire from a roof about 400 feet away, striking the former president once in the ear, federal officials say. The former president appeared to turn his head slightly before gunfire rang out, avoiding a hit to the brain area.
The suspected shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was quickly shot and killed by a Secret Service sniper positioned at the rally. He killed one rally attendee and injured two more.
In several public appearances, including during the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee last month, Trump appeared with a bandage on his ear. But in recent appearances, including his Thursday news conference, he was not seen wearing one.
Some controversy emerged over the shooting after FBI Director Christopher Wray suggested that a bullet, shrapnel, or glass may have pierced Trump’s right ear, prompting pushback from the former president. Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), a former White House doctor who evaluated the former president, said his injury was consistent with a gunshot wound.
The FBI later in a statement to The Epoch Times said that a bullet or a bullet fragment struck the former president’s ear.
Other Questions
As the Republican presidential nominee addressed reporters at his Palm Beach, Florida, estate, ABC announced that Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, have agreed to a Sept. 10 debate, setting up a widely anticipated faceoff in an already unparalleled election. Trump said he had proposed three debates with three television networks in September.In taking questions from reporters for more than an hour, Trump tried to draw a contrast with Harris, who has not held a news conference since President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race in late July.
Trump’s decision to go on ABC sets up a high-stakes moment in an election where Biden’s performance in the last debate set in motion the wheels that ended up in his withdrawal.
After Trump’s news conference, Harris told reporters she was “glad he has finally committed” to debate her on ABC on Sept. 10, the date that had originally been set for a Biden faceoff against Trump and which her campaign has long stuck to. “I’m looking forward to it and hope he shows up,” she said.
Since Harris was named Biden’s successor, Trump has signaled he wants a debate to be held on Fox News, although the Harris camp has not commented on such a prospect.
Trump told reporters that “minor details” were still being worked out about other potential debates, including the locations and audience. The June debate with Biden did not have an audience and had a number of rules in place.
