AAP FACTCHECK – Donald Trump was shot in the chest and survived because he was wearing a bulletproof vest, according to posts circulating on social media.
This is false. The supposed bullet hole in the photo used as evidence appears to be a crease in a Secret Service agent’s blazer.
Other images from the same photographer in the moments after the attack clearly show Trump’s jacket is intact.
Former president Trump was shot at in an assassination attempt while giving a speech at a rally in Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024.
In the hours after the attack, social media users began sharing press photographs of the incident, in particular one taken by Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci.
Social media users said the image showed a bullet hole in Trump’s suit jacket.
“Thank God Trump started wearing a bullet proof vest,” one Facebook user captioned the image.
AAP FactCheck has added a red circle to indicate the supposed bullet hole in the below photograph.
However, it appears what’s being mistaken for a hole is either a shadow or a crease in the Secret Service agent’s or Trump’s jacket.
This is backed up by several other images taken in the seconds after the shooting by the same photographer.
In the images below, Trump’s jacket is unobstructed and there is no sign of any hole in his jacket.
There is also no suggestion from Trump that he was shot in the chest.
Trump said in a statement on his social media platform Truth Social that a bullet pierced his upper right ear, not his chest, and he was seen wearing a bandage on the same ear at the Republican National Convention on July 16, 2024.
The Verdict
False – The claim is inaccurate.
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