No, Image does not show Trump's suit jacket was pierced with a bullet | Fact check

Nate Trela, USA TODAY
·3 min read

The claim: Image shows Trump's suit jacket was pierced with a bullet during Pennsylvania rally shooting

A July 14 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows a photo of former President Donald Trump with blood on his face and raising his fist while surrounded by Secret Service agents. A yellow circle highlights what appears to be a round dark spot on the former president's suit jacket.

“President Trump is miraculously alive,” the post reads in Spanish. “See how one of the projectiles passes through the suit, fortunately it does not hit it. Another grazes the right ear.”

The post was liked more than 30,000 times in three days. Similar claims were also made in English.

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Our rating: False

No bullets hit Trump in the torso or passed through his jacket, according to video and photos of the moment, as well as the former president’s comments immediately after the assassination attempt. The dark spot in the image appears to be part of a Secret Service agent's suit.

No bullets passed through Trump's jacket

Trump was injured in a July 13 assassination attempt during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, a moment caught on video. A shooter, later identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, opened fire shortly into Trump's speech, wounding the former president and two other attendees and killing one man. Crooks was killed by Secret Service agents moments later.

While Trump was seen bleeding from his ear after the shooting, his suit jacket was not pierced with a bullet. Video and photos from the incident, as well as Trump's own account of the attack, confirm as much.

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Trump posted on Truth Social hours after the shooting, making no mention of being shot in the torso.

“I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear,” he wrote in part. “I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening.”

Secret Service statements since the event also do not mention Trump being shot in the body or any bullets passing through his suit jacket.

The dark spot circled in the Instagram post appears to be part of a Secret Service agent's jacket. The agent is wrapped around Trump in an attempt to protect the former president moments after the shooting.

Other images and video from the shooting show no signs of a bullet hole in Trump's suit jacket, and there are no credible news reports about his jacket being pierced with a bullet.

USA TODAY reached out to users who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive responses.

Lead Stories also debunked a version of the claim.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: False claim Trump's jacket hit in assassination attempt | Fact check

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