Little information has been released on Trump’s injuries, what treatment he received in the hospital, his recovery or any lingering health effects.
Trump has worn a large white bandage on his right ear each night of this week’s Republican National Convention, but the Trump campaign has provided no formal update on the former president’s condition, and spokespeople did not respond to a request for comment.
Instead of coming from the former president, the minimal updates the public has gotten have come from his second-eldest son Eric Trump, his daughter-in-law Lara Trump, and close ally and former White House physician Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas).
Within about 30 minutes of the shooting, the campaign issued a statement saying Trump was “fine” and “being checked out at a local medical facility.”
Hours later, Trump posted on Truth Social that he was “shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear.”
“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,” he wrote.
Trump has been relatively tight-lipped about his health since leaving the White House. His team has disclosed minimal information about his physical condition as he campaigns for another term. Even when running in 2016, Trump refused to release full medical records.
But Trump has loudly joined in the questioning of President Biden’s fitness for office and has repeatedly pressed him to take a cognitive test.
Trump is 78 and would be 82 at the end of a prospective second term. But polling has consistently shown voters are far more concerned about the physical and mental acuity of his opponent, President Biden, who will turn 82 in November.
