During a Saturday campaign rally, Donald Trump was shot in the ear in an incident that left his face streaked with blood. His security agents quickly surrounded him, but he re-emerged, pumping his fist in the air and mouthing, "Fight! Fight! Fight!" The shooter was killed, one rally attendee lost their life, and two other spectators were injured. The Secret Service labeled the incident an assassination attempt.
Trump later detailed the event on his Truth Social platform, saying, "I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear. Much bleeding took place." The rally was held in Butler, Pennsylvania, just 30 miles north of Pittsburgh, less than four months before the November 5th election, in which Trump faces a tight rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden.
Both Republicans and Democrats swiftly condemned the violence. The Trump campaign assured that he was "doing well," while President Biden stated, "There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it." Republican Representative Ronny Jackson revealed that his nephew had been wounded at the rally. Questions about security lapses by the Secret Service, which provides lifetime protection to former presidents including Trump, were immediately raised.
This was the first shooting of a U.S. president or major party candidate since the 1981 attempt on President Ronald Reagan's life. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro reported that Trump had left the area under Secret Service protection, assisted by the Pennsylvania state police, and was headed to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
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Ron Moose, a supporter at the rally, recounted hearing four shots. "I saw the crowd go down and then Trump ducked also real quick," he said. "The Secret Service jumped in to protect him immediately." The BBC interviewed an eyewitness who claimed to have seen a man with a rifle on a nearby roof. This person and others tried to alert security. The shots came from outside the area secured by the Secret Service, and the FBI took the lead in investigating the attack. CNN reported that the shooter was identified as a 20-year-old Pennsylvania man.
Trump is set to receive his party's formal nomination at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer both condemned the act of political violence. The Biden campaign paused its television ads and all other outbound communication in response.
Recent polls show Americans are increasingly fearful of political violence, with two out of three respondents in a May survey expressing concern that violence could follow the election. Some of Trump’s allies believe the attack was politically motivated, pointing to incendiary rhetoric from Democratic leaders. Trump, who previously served as president from 2017 to 2021, faces multiple legal challenges but remains a central figure in the Republican Party.
David McCormick, a Republican Senate candidate who was at the rally, described hearing the shots and realizing it was an assassination attempt. "It was terrifying," he told Reuters.
