The FBI has confirmed that former President Donald Trump was indeed shot by a bullet, ending speculation about what exactly bloodied Trump’s ear.
The FBI told The Daily Beast in an emailed statement that, “What struck former President Trump in the ear was a bullet, whether whole or fragmented into smaller pieces, fired from the deceased subject’s rifle.” The statement was originally reported by Fox News.
The controversy began on Wednesday when FBI director Christopher Wray told Congress that, “There is some question about whether or not it was a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear.” Wray testified: “So, it is conceivable, as I sit here right now, I don’t know whether that bullet, in addition to causing the grazing, could have also landed somewhere else.”
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The FBI said they found “numerous metal fragments found near the stage,” according to a law enforcement official who spoke to The New York Times on Thursday, and were using those fragments to determine whether it was a bullet or debris that hit Trump.
The former president posted on his Truth social account moments after the Fox report Friday. “I assume that’s the best apology that we’ll get from Director Wray, but it is fully accepted,” the former president wrote, alongside an image of the statement attached.
Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX), who served as a White House physician during the Trump administration, wrote in statement released on his X account Thursday that Trump’s medical records indicate he was treated for a “Gunshot Wound To the Right Ear,” at Butler Memorial Hospital.
The announcement comes after Trump was spotted for the first time without his now-signature ear bandage during his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier on Friday.
