Fact Check: No, Trump Didn't Post That Bullet Took His 'Entire Ear Off' but It Began Regrowing 'Next Day'
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Claim:
On July 19, 2024, an authentic post on X by former U.S. President Donald Trump stated: "[The bullet] took my entire ear off. The whole ear. But I went to the doctor, and he said, and this is true, he said, you heal faster than anyone I’ve ever seen. Nobody is healthier than you. And the next day, my ear was growing back, and the doctor said, nobody regrows ears like that [...]"
Rating:
On July 19, 2024, a popular post on X allegedly showed U.S. President Donald Trump detailing his recovery after being shot in a July 13, 2024, assassination attempt. According to the screenshot in the post — which had more than 3.3 million views — Trump wrote on X that his ear was entirely taken off by a bullet, but it began regrowing the very next day.
Screenshots of the purported post spread across X. It stated:
It took my entire ear off. The whole ear. But I went to the doctor, and he said, and this is true, he said, you heal faster than anyone I've ever seen. Nobody is healthier than you. And the next day, my ear was growing back, and the doctor said, nobody regrows ears like that, and its a really remarkable thing, regrowing an ear like that, most people can't do it. And I know that, because its not me saying this, it's the doctor, its everybody saying, just, you're the best at regrowing ears.
(X user @AgentSelf99B)
The above post was not real. We found no evidence of it on any of Trump's social media accounts, including on his X account — which he last posted on in August 2023. As such, we rate the above screenshot claiming Trump regrew his ear as "Fake."
Furthermore, Trump's campaign released a medical letter detailing what exactly happened to the former president's ear as the bullet narrowly missed him.
The letter — signed by U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson, who served as Trump's White House physician — stated that Trump sustained a gunshot wound to the right ear that came "less than a quarter of an inch from entering his head, and struck the top of his right ear." The bullet track "produced a 2 cm wide wound that extended down to the cartilaginous surface of the ear. There was initially significant bleeding, followed by marked swelling of the entire upper ear."
After the assassination attempt, Trump appeared at the Republican National Convention with a white bandage covering the upper section of his right ear. The bandage does not cover the whole ear, indicating that the ear was not taken off by a bullet.
Sources:
"Former US President Donald Trump Speaks during the Republican..." Getty Images, 19 July 2024, https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/former-us-president-donald-trump-speaks-during-the-news-photo/2162016338." target="blank">https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/former-us-president-donald-trump-speaks-during-the-news-photo/2162016338.">https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/former-us-president-donald-trump-speaks-during-the-news-photo/2162016338. Accessed 23 July 2024.
"Secret Service Director, Grilled by Lawmakers on the Trump Assassination Attempt, Says 'We Failed.'" AP News, 22 July 2024, https://apnews.com/article/secret-service-trump-rally-shooting-kimberly-cheatle-fabaf9a0e57d5545e5b60f0b2215778f." target="blank">https://apnews.com/article/secret-service-trump-rally-shooting-kimberly-cheatle-fabaf9a0e57d5545e5b60f0b2215778f.">https://apnews.com/article/secret-service-trump-rally-shooting-kimberly-cheatle-fabaf9a0e57d5545e5b60f0b2215778f. Accessed 23 July 2024.
"Trump Campaign Releases Letter on His Injury, Treatment after Last Week's Assassination Attempt." AP News, 20 July 2024, https://apnews.com/article/trump-ronny-jackson-shooting-medical-report-e95a2888cd5eeb64820d6fa789b03463." target="blank">https://apnews.com/article/trump-ronny-jackson-shooting-medical-report-e95a2888cd5eeb64820d6fa789b03463.">https://apnews.com/article/trump-ronny-jackson-shooting-medical-report-e95a2888cd5eeb64820d6fa789b03463. Accessed 23 July 2024.
