Trump's Doctor Paints Gruesome Picture Of What's Underneath His Bandage After Shooting

Donald Trump dramatically wore a large bandage on his ear at the Republican National Convention on July 15, 2024, marking his first public appearance following the Trump rally shooting in Pennsylvania. Dr. Ronny Jackson, who served as the White House physician for the former president, visited Trump and shed some light on the damage sustained from the failed assassination attempt. "[The bullet impact] was far enough away from [Trump's] head that there was no concussive effect from the bullet," Jackson said told "The Benny Show." The doctor also described how Trump's ear looked underneath the bandaging. "And [the bullet] just took the top of his ear off," Jackson said. "It was bleeding like crazy because the ear is pretty vascular and bleeds pretty badly," he added. Even though the doctor dressed the wound, it was still vulnerable to possibly "bleed again" if irritated.

A day earlier, Jackson discussed how the one-time POTUS's ear was treated after being shot. "No, he didn't sew it up because it wasn't really amenable to being sewn because it was a bullet," the doctor told the Daily Mail on July 14. According to Jackson, Trump's ear would eventually heal on its own.

In a separate interview on Trump's condition, Jackson said he was impressed by the presidential candidate's composure following the shooting. "The staff is a little shaken up, I think, but he was not fazed at all by this," Jackson told Fox Business on July 15. Previously, Trump had spoken about how fortunate he was to have survived.

Members of Donald Trump's family spoke out shortly after the assassination attempt, and the former president gave an interview the next day. Speaking to the New York Post on July 14, Trump mentioned how lucky he was to have turned his head at the precise moment the shooter took the shot, so he only sustained an injury to the top of his ear. "The doctor at the hospital said he never saw anything like this, he called it a miracle," the former president told the outlet. "I'm not supposed to be here, I'm supposed to be dead." Trump also mentioned how impressed he was with the Secret Service acting so swiftly. Initially, the Republican presidential nominee did not want to leave the podium. "I just wanted to keep speaking, but I just got shot," he added while mentioning how "iconic" the photo of him lifting his fist to the air with a bloodied ear would become.

Following the shooting, Trump appeared in good spirits, but the gravity of taking a bullet from an AR-15 that narrowly missed his head had not escaped him. "I don't like to think about that, but, yes, I think has an impact," he told ABC News on July 15.

Perhaps the assassination attempt could lead to future trauma, but in the immediate aftermath of the shooting Trump was more concerned with his shoes than his safety. Video of the incident showed him saying, "Let me get my shoes on," to Secret Service agents.