Donald Trump’s right ear was grazed by the bullet during the Pennsylvania shooting
Fans of Donald Trump started wearing an unusual accessory to show their support for the former president after a shooter attempted to end his life.
The US Secret Service ‘neutralized’ 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks after he targeted Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania last Saturday (13 July).
Trump survived the attack, but simulations have shown just how close the bullet came to causing fatal injuries to the former president.
It’s believed to be thanks to a last-minute head-turn that the bullet grazed Trump’s ear rather than hitting him more directly in the head.
He was left bleeding from the ear, but his injuries were not life threatening and the president was released from hospital after the incident, He was later pictured with a bandage over his ear to protect his wound.
The shooting took place just days before the Republican National Convention began in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where many of those supporting Trump’s party have gathered to show their support ahead of the upcoming presidential election.
Trump was hit in the right ear by the bullet. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
It seems that simply showing their faces wasn’t enough though, as a number of people took inspiration from Trump when it came to curating their appearances for the day.
Images from the convention show a number of people put white bandages over their own ears while in attendance to mimic the injury suffered by Trump.
Photos showed Republicans applying the bandages to one another, with some going as far as to write ‘T (Trump) 2024’ on the white material.
In a statement after the shooting, Trump said the bullet ‘pierced the upper part of [his] right ear’.
Supporters bandaged their ears like Trump at the convention. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin,” he wrote on the social media platform Truth Social.
“Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening.”
Rep. Ronny Jackson, who worked as Trump’s White House doctor while he was in power, reverted to his role in healthcare after the shooting as he took a plane ride with Trump the next day.
He helped tend to Trump’s injury, according to the Seattle Times, saying: “The bullet took a little bit off the top of his ear in an area that, just by nature, bleeds like crazy.
“The dressing’s bulked up a bit because you need a bit of absorbent. You don’t want to be walking around with bloody gauze on his ear.”
Trump arrived at the convention centre in Milwaukee with his fist raised, with the sounds of ‘God Bless the USA’ playing in the background.