Trump hits back at FBI director over shrapnel comment

WASHINGTON: Former US president Donald Trump on Friday hit back against suggestions his wound from an assassination attempt was caused by “shrapnel,” posting a letter from his former doctor saying it was almost certainly due to a bullet.

“There is absolutely no evidence that it was anything other than a bullet,” wrote Ronny Jackson, now a Republican congressman from Texas, on Trump’s social media platform Truth Social. Trump reposted the message.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) chief Christopher Wray told US lawmakers on Wednesday that there was some doubt “whether or not it’s a bullet or shrapnel that, you know, that hit his ear.” Trump was wounded on his right ear at a campaign rally on July 13 in Pennsylvania, surviving what the FBI has termed an assassination attempt when a gunman fired eight bullets at him during a speech. There has been no confirmation of the nature of Trump’s wound from either medical, law enforcement or government authorities, and Wray’s comments were the first on-the-record details from a senior official on the matter.

On Thursday, Trump denied Wray’s comments and accused him of political partisanship. “It was, unfortunately, a bullet that hit my ear, and hit it hard. There was no glass, there was no shrapnel,” he said.

A New York Times investigation published Friday said “a detailed analysis of bullet trajectories, footage, photos and audio... strongly suggests Mr Trump was grazed by the first of eight bullets fired by the gunman.”Trump’s campaign has not released any medical reports or statements from his current physician.