Some social media users are claiming the shooter at the July 13 Pennsylvania rally not only grazed former President Donald Trump’s ear, but also burned a bullet hole through his chest.
A July 14 Facebook post stated that “Trump took a bullet, or a bullet fragment, in the chest but was saved by his bullet proof vest which he had just started wearing.”
The Facebook post included a zoomed-in photo of Trump’s suit jacket, taken after the assassination attempt at Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The photo appears to show a small hole below Trump’s underarm.
Similar claims surfaced in a July 14 Threads post.
These posts were flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)
The photo is authentic; it was captured by a photographer with The Associated Press. But it doesn’t show proof that a bullet hit Trump in his chest area.
(Screenshot from Facebook.)
The apparent hole is actually a crease in the jacket of a Secret Service agent who was bending over to protect Trump. The crease was also captured at the 56-second mark in this AP video of the shooting’s aftermath, which shows it disappearing as the agent moves.
The AP snapped another photo just moments before the one with the apparent bullet hole. It shows a clearer image of Trump’s suit jacket as he raises his fist, and there’s no evidence of a hole.
Trump has never mentioned being shot in the chest. “I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear,” he wrote July 13 on Truth Social.
Neither the FBI investigating the incident nor any major news outlets have reported on a second bullet burning a hole through Trump’s suit jacket.
We rate the claim that a photo shows proof of a bullet hole in Trump’s chest False.
Truth-o-meter Ruling
IF YOUR TIME IS SHORT
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Although the photo is authentic, it doesn’t show proof of a bullet in former President Donald Trump’s chest.
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The apparent hole is a crease in a Secret Service agent’s jacket. The crease was also captured in a video of the shooting’s aftermath, which shows it disappearing as the agent moves.
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Neither Trump, the FBI investigators, nor any major news outlets have mentioned a bullet hitting Trump’s chest.
Statement
Context
a Facebook postSpeaker/Target
Statement Date
Our Sources
Threads post, July 14, 2024
Facebook post, July 14, 2024
Associated Press, photo from rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13, 2024
Associated Press, The moment the Trump assassination attempt captured on video, July 13, 2024
Associated Press, photo from rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13, 2024
Former President Donald Trump, Truth Social post, July 13, 2024
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