- Several questions remain regarding Donald Trump’s injuries following the assassination attempt.
- Ronny L. Jackson, Trump’s former White House physician, said in a statement that the injury was caused by a gunshot.
- He added that the bullet was “within a quarter of an inch of entering his head.”
President Donald Trump’s former White House physician said the former president was shot during an assassination attempt, with the bullet coming close to striking his head.
According to a statement posted on X by former White House physician and current Texas Congressman Ronny Jackson, the bullet came within “a quarter-inch” of Trump’s head.
“The bullet passed through his head less than a quarter inch and struck him above his right ear,” Jackson said. statement“The bullet left a 2cm wide wound that reached down to the cartilage surface of the ear.”
The assassination attempt on Trump took place on July 13 when suspect Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, fired multiple shots at an outdoor rally for Trump in Pennsylvania, leaving two rally attendees seriously injured and one dead.
Photos taken by photojournalists showed what appeared to be blood coming from Trump’s right ear, and a photo taken by New York Times photographer Doug Mills showed the trajectory of the bullet as it passed by the former president’s head.
Jackson previously told The Times that Trump told him that if he hadn’t turned his head to look at the chart, the bullet would have gone in his head.
A week after the attack, questions still remain about the shooter’s motive and President Trump’s injuries.
The full extent of Trump’s injuries, beyond damage to his right ear, is still unknown, and investigators have yet to say what type of flying object, bullet or shrapnel struck the former president, CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta wrote.
A spokesman for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Jackson said in a statement that Trump experienced “significant swelling over the entire top part of his ear” following the injury and that further testing was required.
“The swelling has subsided, the wound has granulated and is beginning to heal properly,” the doctor said, adding that “there is intermittent bleeding and the injury requires bandaging.”
Jackson served as White House physician for former President Barack Obama and the first half of the Trump administration.
The Dallas Morning News reported in 2023 that Jackson does not have a medical license in Texas and that his Virginia license expired several years ago. The paper also reported that Jackson’s Florida license is no longer valid since he left the Navy in 2019.
A spokesman for Jackson did not immediately respond to a request for comment about his medical licensing history.
