Ronny Jackson, ex-White House physician, says Trump was hit in ear by bullet, not shrapnel

Washington — Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas, who served as physician to former President Donald Trump at the White House, said Friday that the former president was hit by a bullet in hit right ear when a gunman opened fire at his rally in Pennsylvania.

Jackson wrote in a memorandum to “concerned citizens of the United States” that was shared to social media that he has continued to monitor Trump’s health following the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.

“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,” Jackson wrote.

He said he has reviewed Trump’s medical records from Butler Memorial Hospital, where he was treated for a “gunshot wound to the right ear,” and agrees with the initial assessment and treatment from the medical staff at the hospital.

“There is absolutely no evidence that it was anything other than a bullet,” Jackson wrote. He said that Trump is “rapidly recovering” from the wound and doing “extremely well.”

The memo from Jackson appears to have been prompted by comments FBI Director Chris Wray made to the House Judiciary Committee during an oversight hearing Wednesday, during which he said Trump’s ear was grazed by either shrapnel or a bullet.

“With respect to former President Trump, there is some question about whether it was a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear,” he said.

In a statement provided to CBS News Friday, the FBI’s Office of Public Affairs said, “What struck former President Trump in the ear was a bullet, whether whole or fragmented into smaller pieces, fired from the deceased subject’s rifle.”

Trump attacked Wray for his comments, writing on social media that the American people no longer have confidence in the FBI. He also claimed Wray should resign because he allegedly lied to Congress about President Biden’s health.

“There was no glass, there was no shrapnel. The hospital called it a ‘bullet wound to the ear,’ and that is what it was,” the former president wrote.

Trump tapped Wray to lead the FBI in 2017 after firing former director James Comey.

The FBI said in a statement Thursday that Wray provided “extensive congressional testimony” about the bureau’s investigation into the shooting, which left one rally-goer dead and Trump and two attendees injured.

“Since the day of the attack, the FBI has been consistent and clear that the shooting was an attempted assassination of former President Trump which resulted in his injury, as well as the death of a heroic father and the injuries of several other victims,” the FBI said. 

The bureau said a “shooting reconstruction team” is examining evidence from the scene of the attack, including bullet fragments. 

Referencing Wray’s comments, Jackson wrote in his memo that Congress should correct the hearing record “as confirmed by both the hospital and myself.”

Jackson served in the White House Medical Unit during President George W. Bush’s administration. He was physician to the president under President Barack Obama and Trump, who appointed Jackson as chief medical adviser and assistant to the president in January 2019.

Jackson was elected to Congress in 2020 and represents Texas’ 13th Congressional District.

In 2022, Jackson was demoted by the Navy from rear admiral (lower half) to captain after an investigation from the Pentagon’s internal watchdog found he engaged in inappropriate conduct during his time with the White House Medical Unit.

Released in March 2021, the Pentagon’s probe found Jackson “disparaged, belittled, bullied and humiliated”  subordinates and drank recklessly during presidential trips, when he was in charge of providing medical care and treatment to U.S. officials.

Jackson retired from the Navy in 2019. Trump had selected him to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2018, but reports of misconduct, including allegations that he drank on the job and overprescribed medications, derailed his nomination.