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ago in General Factchecking by (100 points)
Recently close up pictures of Donald Trump's ear, which was (supposedly) shot during an assassination attempt, were published which showed no scar or trace of such an injury. I saw claims on Reddit that there was no scar because he was never shot at all; these claims said the shot to the ear was faked.

11 Answers

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ago by Novice (640 points)

The claim that Donald Trump was never shot in the ear is false. According to a statement from FBI director Christopher Wray, “There is absolutely no doubt in the FBI’s mind whether former President Trump was hit with a bullet and wounded in the ear,". A video from the Wall Street journal also includes clips of the assassination attempt from different angles where you can clearly see the blood on his face. Of course, like all incidents like this, there is a possibility that it was staged, but the evidence against this conspiracy theory is overwhelming.

Sources: https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/07/30/congress/no-doubt-trump-was-hit-by-bullet-00171861

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46s81vcbB0o

False
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ago by Newbie (430 points)
This is a claim that has often been made a bunch of times. But this claim isn't true. There are multiple articles that reference President Trump getting shot in the ear. First and article from USA Today quoting, "The FBI later deemed that a bullet had struck Trump in the ear.". (USA Today). The FBI, an official government agency broke the truth that Trump was shot in the ear. One article can seem skeptical so to check my sources, I looked at another article that said near to the exact same thing. Using an exact quote from the FBI, NBC News reported, "'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 FBI said in a statement." (NBC News). Because this same statement came from two highly known and valued media outlets, and was a statement from an official government agency, the original claim made is false.

If the FBI statement wasn't enough, Trump was seen with a bandage around his ear on his following republican rally. As quoted from BBC News, "With a bandage strapped over one ear, Donald Trump made a triumphant return to the public eye on Monday evening at the Republican National Convention, receiving a rapturous welcome from thousands of supporters two days after an attempt on his life." (BBC News). In my opinion, I'm not sure why another highly respected and known news outlet would spread misinformation about something like this (unless they thought it was true in the moment and just moved on, never correcting their work). This time, it is a visual to the general public that Trump was shot in the ear.

Therefore, there might be a bunch on controversy and a lot of speculation if this is true or not but from the person who was shot, he presented himself to the public that he was shot in the ear. The FBI, and official government agency confirmed that he was shot in the ear. The claim that was originally made is factually incorrect.

Sources:

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/fbi-confirms-bullet-struck-trumps-ear-assassination-attempt-rcna163896

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/07/13/trump-assassination-attempt-conspiracy-theories/84508086007/

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd1675lpd0go
False
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ago by Newbie (430 points)

 The claim stated above is false, based on the source provided above the information provided is purely based on opinion not fact. We know this because it is a bunch of comments on a reddit page of individuals arguing over unverified claims. The source “Trump was not shot. Shooting was real, ketchup wasn't used, but there was a con. Noise flinch, and shockwave caused him to check his ear, before the officer's hip collides with his head. Can be seen on the video” is a biased and opinionated claim made by the user “anythingoesnews” that uploaded a link to a video and title heading. Reddit is a news aggregation and a forum platform where communities called subreddits are created around specific topics. Topics posted by a user can be false and true on this website, if it is true it will be backed up by primary verified sources. In this case a user posted a claim with no evidence. This tells us that this is not fact based but biased. As I did research I collected two primary sources, one being a direct FBI quote “what struck former president trump in the ear was a bullet, whether whole or fragmented into smaller pieces, fired from the deceased subjects rifle” from a news article reporting on the FBI statement from the source Politico. This is direct evidence from the FBI confirming that Trump was in fact shot. Politico and Reuters have also spoken, which provides reliable summaries of the FBI and Dr. Jackson evidence.  out about these statements.  It is first hand information from the federal government, which confirms it. Next from the article Reuters it states that Donald Trump's doctor, Dr. Jackson spoke out about Trump's injury. He posted a letter on social media that states “the bullet track produced a 2 centimeter wide wound that extended down the cartiligous surface of the ear”. This is medical confirmation coming from a professional doctor that came out and spoke about which is first hand evidence. Both of these sources are reliable, the FBI could possibly be influenced by politics and Dr. Jackson’s support could seem biased but still the medical and evidence they provide is still trustworthy. These confirmations tell us that Trump did in fact get shot and that it is false that he did not.

Sources: https://www.politico.com/news/2024/07/27/fbi-says-trump-was-indeed-struck-by-bullet-during-assassination-attempt-00171505?ref=upstract.com 

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-former-physician-gives-new-details-gunshot-wound-2024-07-20/

False
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ago by Newbie (210 points)
Think of this as your investigation log. Answer each question to explain what you discovered and how you got there.

1. Write a brief overall summary of your findings.
2. What primary sources did you find (e.g., transcripts, videos of politician speeches, tweets from public figures, scientific studies)? For each source, write at least one or two sentences explaining what you learned. Include all links.
3. What secondary sources did you find (e.g., newspapers, magazines)? Only use secondary sources if sufficient primary sources are not available. For each source, write at least one or two sentences explaining what you learned. Include all links.
4. What potential biases or interests might each of your sources have?
5. What evidence supports the claim you are fact-checking?
6. What evidence undermines the claim you are fact-checking?
7. What happened when you tried contacting the person or group who made the original claim? (Always try to contact them—it’s okay if you don’t get a reply. For example, if the claim is that the president said something, try reaching out to the administration. If it was a Bluesky user, message that user on Bluesky.)
False
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ago by Newbie (240 points)

This is a false claim. There are many reputable sources that show Trump was shot at. There is also video evidence and the FBI agreeing Trump was shot at. The shooter was caught. It was a minor shot that grazed his ear but he still was shot. Many conspiracies exist but this is the truth.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/07/13/trump-assassination-attempt-conspiracy-theories/84508086007/

False
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ago by Newbie (290 points)

This claim is not true. We know it happend because there is video eveidence of the event, there were hundreds of people in the crowd who watched it take place, and offical fbi records talking about the shooting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYfvSspaJtk

https://www.fbi.gov/news/press-releases/update-on-the-fbi-investigation-of-the-attempted-assassination-of-former-president-donald-trump

False
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ago by Newbie (300 points)

While there is potential evidence that President Trump was not actually shot in the ear, this is simply false. First of all, a lot of this information populates from Reddit, which is an unreliable source considering that it is heavily based on opinions of various communities. Secondly there is video evidence clearly showing that Trump was indeed shot. In the video, you can hear the whizzing of the bullets and it clearly shows him ducking for cover as blood runs down his ear and face. To analyze this further, I found a report from NBC News documenting the FBI’s statement about the incident. FBI Director Christopher Wray stated whether the bullet was intact or broken up into pieces, it did strike his ear. I also found an article from a plastic surgeon who analyzed the damage and healing post shooting. Dr. Frederick Weniger states “There is some bumpiness at the back edge of the top of the ear (where the majority of the injury was), and there is also a slight depression in the front where the rim of the ear attaches to the side of the face.” This proves that Trump was shot because there is evidence of differentiation in his ear and as highlighted by the doctor there is scarring present, despite the wound healing quite naturally on its own.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/fbi-confirms-bullet-struck-trumps-ear-assassination-attempt-rcna163896

https://www.wenigerplasticsurgery.com/plastic-surgeon-walks-us-through-trumps-ear-injury-one-year-after-assassination-attempt/

False
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ago by Newbie (300 points)
The claim that Donald Trump was never actually shot in the ear is false. During a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024, Trump was struck by a bullet or bullet fragment that grazed the upper part of his right ear. The Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed 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” (FBI, 2024). Multiple reputable news outlets, including CBS News and Al Jazeera, also reported on the incident and noted that Trump was treated for a minor wound consistent with a gunshot injury. While some online posts have questioned the legitimacy of the wound, the available evidence including official statements and medical documentation clearly supports that Trump sustained an ear injury from a bullet at the rally.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-says-shots-pierced-injured-ear-rally-pennsylvania/?

https://www.fbi.gov/news/press-releases/update-on-the-fbi-investigation-of-the-attempted-assassination-of-former-president-donald-trump

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/7/14/trump-doing-well-after-being-shot-in-right-ear-at-pennsylvania-rally?
False
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ago by Newbie (300 points)

The claim that Trump was not shot in the ear is false. According to the Reddit Video and comments, users believe that due to the trajectory of the bullet and the blood on Trump’s cheek, there was never a bullet that hit Trumps ear. Though the claim could have appeared to be fake, it could have also been exaggerated. According to an article from USA Today, the FBI deemed that “a bullet had struck Trump in the ear.” Dr. Anthony Fauci said on CNN that the doctors indicated it was a surface-level wound that was described by Trump as a “throbbing feeling.” Despite controversy and claims from Trump that this was the democratic parties fault, The shooter was proven to have shot 8, 2mm bullets with one of the rounds hitting Trumps ear at 6:11pm. The wound was said to have been 2 cm wide and extended down the cartilage. 

Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/07/13/trump-assassination-attempt-conspiracy-theories/84508086007/ 

False
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ago by Newbie (320 points)

The claim that Donals Trump was never actually was never actually shot in the ear is false. During a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024, Trump was stuck in the upper part of his right eat when a bullet grazed him. According to Time Magazine, Trump confirmed "A bullet pierced the upper part of [his] right ear", describing how he felt the blood running down his face as he was leaving the stage. The FBI later verified that "a bullet--whether whole or fragmented--struck the former president's ear" following ballistic analysis of the scene and medical evaluation. Both confirm the gunfire made physical contact, meaning the claim above is factually incorrect. The findings of the federal investigators establish that Trump did sustain a minor gunshot injury to his ear. 

sources: https://time.com/7003617/trump-ear-injury-shooting-details/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

https://www.wdbj7.com/2024/07/27/fbi-says-trump-was-indeed-struck-by-bullet-during-assassination-attempt/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

False

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