Trump claps back after FBI confirms bullet hit during assassination bid

Former United States President Donald Trump has responded after the FBI addressed speculation that he was not shot during his assassination bidat a rally in Pennsylvania, earlier this month.

In a statement released on Friday, the FBI confirmed, "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."

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Trump reacted to the statementon Truth Social, stating, "I assume that's the best apology that we'll get from Director (Christopher)Wray, but it is fully accepted!"

The former president's remarks came aftersome law enforcement officials, including the FBI chief, had expressed doubts about whether Trumpwas hit by a bullet in the attack, which resulted in an ear injury.

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During his testimony before Congress earlier this week, Wray remarked, "As I said, I think with respect to former President Trump, there's some question about whether or not it's bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear."

In aninterview with The New York Post, Trump claimed that he had been struck by a bullet, which took out a portion of his ear.

"The doctor at the hospital said he never saw anything like this, he called it a miracle," said the former president. "I'm not supposed to be here, I'm supposed to be dead."

GOP RepresentativeMarjorie Taylor Greene criticised Wray on X, asserting, "FBI Director [Christopher] Wray should have never played into Democrats' lies and conspiracy theories suggesting it was a piece of glass or fragment that struck President Trump."

Greene also shared a statement by Republican Representative Ronny Jackson,who served as physician to the former presidentat the White House.

Earlier on Friday,Jackson saidTrump was hit by a bullet in his right ear. "There is absolutely no evidence that it was anything other than a bullet," he asserted.

Following Wray's testimony to Congress, Trump had lashed out at the FBI director, sayingthat it was in fact a bullet that struck his ear.

"FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress yesterday that he wasn't sure if I was hit by shrapnel, glass, or a bullet. It was, unfortunately, a bullet that hit my ear, and hit it hard. 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!" the former presidentwrote on social media.

"Since the day of the attack, the FBI has been consistent and clear that the shooting was an attempted assassination of former President Trump which resulted in his injury, as well as the death of a heroic father and the injuries of several other victims," the agency said in its initial statement addressing inquiries about Wray's testimony on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.

In his testimony, Wray also shared new details about the attack by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.

According to the FBI chief, Crooks had searched for information about the assassination ofJohn F Kennedy on his laptop and had flown a drone in the area near the rally two hours before Trump took the stage.

The 20-year-oldwas shot and killed by Secret Service agents at the scene. Following the attack, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned.

In her testimonyto Congress that the assassination attempt on Trump was "the most significant operational failure at the Secret Service in decades."

(With inputs from agencies)