Trump seen without bandage for first time since assassination attempt

Donald Trump has appeared without a bandage on his ear for the first time since he was shot in an assassination attempt as his doctor released an update on his recovery. The shocking new images show that the 45th president's right ear seems to have made a remarkably quick recovery in less than two weeks since a gunman opened fire on him.

Would-be assassin Thomas Crooks, 20, fired eight rounds from an AR-15 at the rally stage in Butler, Pennsylvania, including one that ripped through the president's ear. Blood covered his face as he was frantically pulled off the stage by Secret Service in what was a huge security failure by the agency meant to protect him.

The snaps were taken as the former president welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida for a meeting. The pair discussed the war in Gaza, less than 24 hours after Netanyahu held talks with Kamala Harris at the White House and was 'irked' by her comments on a ceasefire deal.

The ear reveal comes the same day that Trump's doctor, Dr. Ronny Jackson, gave a critical update on the president's recovery. Dr. Ronny Jackson, who is also a Republican Congressman from Texas, released a letter on Friday saying there was 'absolutely no evidence' he was hit by 'anything other than a bullet'.

'I want to reassure the American people and the rest of the world, that President Trump is doing extremely well,' Trump's former White House chief doctor added. Jackson's reassurance that the 45th president was hit by a slug rather than glass or shrapnel is a direct rebuke against FBI Director Christopher Wray's suggestion earlier this week that the agency is still determining what bloodied Trump's right ear.

Wray sparked a firestorm on Wednesday when he testified to lawmakers on Capitol Hill that there are still 'some questions' about whether the former president was struck with a bullet or shrapnel. The FBI wants to question Donald Trump about his near-death experience when he survived an assassination attempt earlier this month.

It has yet to receive a victim statement from the former president as it collects evidence to investigate the horrifying event, one official said in a subsequent statement seeking to clarify the Wray remark. Jackson, who has been monitoring Trump's condition, added: 'I have continued to monitor his health and well-being, along with his primary care physician, since the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, on the evening of July 13th. 'The would-be assassin fired multiple rounds from a relatively close distance using a high-powered rifle, with one bullet striking the former President, and now the Republican Nominee for President, in his right ear.'

And Trump, whose ear was pictured for the first time without a bandage on Friday, has totally refuted the FBI's questioning of his wound, saying he was struck by 'a bullet that hit my ear, and hit it hard.' Trump posted on his Truth Social: '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 president's campaign also railed against the notion that Trump was struck by shrapnel as opposed to a slug.

'Anyone who believes this conspiracy [expletive] is either mentally deficient or willfully peddling falsehoods for political reasons,' Trump campaign adviser Steven Cheung told CNN. During the hearing Wednesday with Wray, the director responded to questions about the 'assassin's bullet' saying, 'My understanding is that either it or some shrapnel is what, you know, grazed his ear.' Wray also testified that whatever it was that hit Trump came extremely close to killing the 45th president.

Want more stories like this from the Daily Mail? Visit our profile page and hit the follow button above for more of the news you need.