Former White House physician details the extent of Trump's assassination attempt injuries

Trump did not require stitches to his ear, but there is still intermittent bleeding, according to Ronny Jackson

By Kelly McClure

Nights & Weekends Editor

Published July 21, 2024 10:31AM (EDT)

Republican Presidential nominee former President Donald J. Trump holds his first public campaign rally with his running mate, Vice Presidential nominee U.S. Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) , at the Van Andel Arena on July 20, 2024 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
Republican Presidential nominee former President Donald J. Trump holds his first public campaign rally with his running mate, Vice Presidential nominee U.S. Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) , at the Van Andel Arena on July 20, 2024 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

On Saturday, Donald Trump and JD Vance held a joint campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan — the first public rally since Trump's assassination attempt — and although appearing to be in plucky spirits otherwise, Trump still wore a bandage on the ear that was injured in the July 13 shooting in Pennsylvania.

On the same day that Trump spoke to a crowd about a number of his favorite topics — such as the "fake news" media, President Xi being "brilliant" and sharks — former presidential physician Ronny Jackson released a letter detailing the full extent of Trump's injuries from the attempt on his life over a week ago, revealing that while he did not require stitches for the ear that was said to have been grazed by a bullet, it does still bleed from time to time.

In the letter, Jackson writes that he has “evaluated and treated” Trump’s 2 cm wide wound on his ear daily, which he believes to have been caused by the track of a bullet “that extended down the cartilaginous surface of the ear," going on to specify that "there is still intermittent bleeding requiring a dressing to be in place.”

As The Washington Post highlights in their coverage of the letter, Jackson — who is only authorized to practice medicine in a military facility — also noted that the trauma initially caused bleeding and swelling, but that the swelling has since resolved and the wound was beginning to “heal properly.”

Weighing in on Trump's injuries in a conversation with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Friday, Former White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci referred to the damage to Trump's ear as a “superficial wound.”

“I mean, from what we’ve seen and what we’ve heard, it was … a bullet shot that grazed his ear and injured his ear . . . I don’t think there is much more to it,” he said.

This aligns with the information in Jackson's letter which, all in all, negates the alternative theory that Trump's injury was caused by flying debris. 

 


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