FBI confirms Trump was struck by bullet in assassination attempt

Former US president Donald Trump was certainly hit by an assassin's bullet or a piece of one, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Friday (July 26).

"What struck former President Donald 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.

It may be recalled here, Trump's right ear was covered in blood on July 13 after he was injured during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

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The FBI considered the assault -- in which a gunman fired eight bullets from outside the event's security perimeter -- an ‘assassination attempt’.

However, FBI chief Christopher Wray earlier told US lawmakers that there was some doubt as to "whether or not it's a bullet or shrapnel that, you know, that hit his ear."

"With respect to former president Trump, there’s some question about whether it was a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear," Wray told Representative Jim Jordan during the testimony.

“As I sit here right now, I don’t know whether that bullet… in addition to causing the grazing, could have landed somewhere else," he added.

Following thestatement from the FBI—Trump has long alleged is part of a "deep state" conspiring against him—the Republican posted on his Truth Social platform, "I assume that's the best apology that we'll get from Director Wray, but it is fully accepted!"

Taking a further digat Wray Trump wrote, “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!”.

However, Trump also posted a letter from his former White House doctor saying the wound was almost certainly due to a bullet.

Notably, two rally attendees were seriously wounded in the attack, and a 50-year-old Pennsylvania firefighter was shot dead. The gunman was killed by a US Secret Service sniper immediately after the incident.

Since the shooting, Trump has made the attack a significant part of his campaign pitches, telling a crowd in Michigan that he "took a bullet for democracy."

Trump to hold another rally at site of assassination attempt

Donald Trump said on Friday he will return to the Pennsylvania town where he survived an assassination attempt.

"I will be going back to Butler, Pennsylvania, for a big and beautiful rally," former President Trump wrote on his Truth Social site, without providing details on when or where the rally would take place.

(With inputs from agencies)