Former President Donald Trump is lashing out at FBI Director Christopher Wray for suggesting that there is uncertainty about Trump being hit with a bullet during the recent assassination attempt.
Trump suffered a flesh wound to his right ear after would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, killing one spectator and seriously injuring two others.
Early rumors suggested that Trump’s injury may have been caused by shrapnel but the ex-president later said that he had been struck by a bullet. A photo of the incident also appears to show a bullet whizzing by Trump’s ear around the time of the injury.
Wray, a Trump appointee and a Republican, said while testifying before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday that there was still ” some question about whether or not it’s a bullet or shrapnel” that struck the former president.
Trump lashed out at Wray over the suggestion in a Truth Social post on Thursday, while also denouncing the director for not saying during the hearing that he had observed “cognitive decline” during his meetings with President Joe Biden.
“FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress yesterday that he wasn’t sure if I was hit by shrapnel, glass, or a bullet (the FBI never even checked!), but he was sure that Crooked Joe Biden was physically and cognitively ‘uneventful’ – Wrong!” Trump wrote.
“No, it was, unfortunately, a bullet that hit my ear, and hit it hard,” he continued. “There was no glass, there was no shrapnel. The hospital called it a ‘bullet wound to the ear,’ and that is what it was. No wonder the once storied FBI has lost the confidence of America!”
Newsweek reached out for comment to the FBI via email on Thursday night.
The FBI is investigating the shooting, including potential explanations for Trump’s ear injury that may or may not involve the former president being struck directly by a bullet.
Investigators are “examining numerous metal fragments” found at the scene to determine whether a bullet “or potential debris” hit Trump, according to a report published on Thursday by The New York Times.
Potential alternative explanations for the injury include metal debris fragments or the bullet itself breaking apart while striking a metal barrier before hitting Trump’s ear, according to the report.
Early reports suggesting the former president may have been hit by shattered glass from a teleprompter have been ruled out due to the teleprompters that were near Trump remaining intact during the shooting.
Days after the shooting, Trump compared the moment that he was injured to being bitten by “the world’s largest mosquito” during a leaked phone call with independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., according to a report by the Associated Press.
The former president later described being hit “really, really hard” by something that could “only be a bullet” and asserted that he had survived only “by the grace of almighty God” during his speech at the Republican National Convention.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
