OPINION: Donald Trump cannot be the sole medical source on the ear injury
By: Austin Linfante (Heartland Signal)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
By Jennifer Schulze - 7/18/24 Share
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump points to his ear as he talks to Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, during the Republican National Convention Tuesday, July 16, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
Let's be honest: Trusting Donald Trump about anything, even his own injury, is not a smart move. Trump — who infamously told over 30,473 documented lies during his presidency — should not be the sole medical source on his ear injury.
Yes, his ear was clearly injured. But how? How was it treated? What are the resulting health issues, if any? Will there be medical follow-ups? Voters deserve answers to these questions so where are the briefings, official statements and medical reports?
Contrast the lack of information about Trump's injury with how the Biden White House handled news on Wednesday that the president had just tested positive for COVID. Biden's press secretary released a statement about the situation that included detailed information from the president's doctor about the diagnosis, Biden's symptoms and treatment plan. We now know more about Biden's just-diagnosed COVID case than we do about the injury to Trump during an assassination attempt five days ago.
In the six days since the shooting incident, there has not been any official information about the injury to Trump's ear. Nothing from the hospital that treated Trump. Nothing from law enforcement that were at the scene or are now investigating the incident. The Trump campaign is refusing to answer any questions. So far, the primary source of information about Trump's wound is Trump himself. That seems not just odd but concerning, given what we all know about Trump's credibility problems.
Trump has long lied and misled the public about his health. His estranged niece, Mary Trump, says he equates sickness with weakness. Recall that in 2020, he misled the country about testing positive for COVID just before his first debate with Joe Biden and then withheld how dangerously sick the virus made him. We learned months later that "officials believed he would need to be put on a ventilator." And of course, during his first campaign, he provided a completely laughable letter claiming that he would be the healthiest person ever to serve as president.
An attempted assassination is clearly very serious and concerning for the entire country so it's crucial to get updated, accurate information. But with a glaring lack of official statements about Trump's injury, the news media is coming up empty. Instead, we have a few stories like this one from AP about the lack of available information.
So far, the only doctor on record about Trump's injury is former White House physician and current Republican congressman Ronny Jackson. He says "the bullet took a little bit off the top of his ear." But Jackson cannot be the only doctor we hear from on Trump's injury. He's just not a credible enough source.
Meanwhile, while as the nation reels from the assassination attempt, the Trump myth-making has begun. Some Trump supporters and at least one newspaper columnist are saying God intervened to save Trump from death by gunshot. Convention delegates are wearing bandages on their ears in tribute to Trump. Trump himself made a dramatic first appearance at the convention where that bandage was first revealed. He's also talking about his lucky close call.
But more transparency is still required as former RNC Chair Michael Steele and many others are saying. Columnist Rex Huppke has an excellent list of questions that still need to be answered:
- "What, specifically, was his injury, and how was it treated?
- What is his current medical condition in the wake of the injury, and has he been prescribed medication? If so, what kind?
- Will additional medical procedures be required?
- Has the former president had a psychological evaluation in the wake of the shooting?
- How is his medical team planning to address the possibility of PTSD or other psychological after-effects?
- Is he planning ongoing mental health counseling?"
And still another unanswered question is what actually caused the injury? So far, Trump is the only one on record saying he was a hit by a bullet. Poynter columnist Tom Jones writes "there is no proof behind the conspiracy theories that Trump was injured by anything other than a bullet." But we still need an official report from doctors and investigators to confirm that.
This is a complicated time for the country and official details about the former president's injuries are certainly not among the most pressing matters. Still, journalists must not shy away from doing a thorough and complete job of trying to answer all of the unanswered questions about that awful day in Pennsylvania.
Jennifer Schulze is a Chicago journalist reporting on journalism. Follow Jennifer on Threads @newsjennifer_schulze or Twitter/X @NewsJennifer.
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I dont doubt that Trump was hit by a bullet. Having said that it is mysterious that there never was a statement by a hospital or doctor that treated him.
the piece of his ear that appeared damaged appeared to be about 1/20th the size of that bandage.
The issue is not whether his ear was damaged and was bleeding a little (or moderately if you prefer) but rather whether he is milking the cut for everything it was worth and more.
And how long is he going to wear such a large bandage? It is a week now. No doubt the wound is healing, probably enough to not need a bandage at all anymore, but certainly enough to suggest a much smaller bandage. That does not appear to be a bandage out of a box or a nurses supply drawer. It appears to be a custom bandage made perhaps to Trump's specifications.
I had a catheterization through my neck last year. Afterwards the incision wouldnt stop bleeding . For almost 6 hours a team of nurses , and even the heart surgeon took turns applying bandages and pressure to my neck, and still couldnt get it to stop bleeding . Eventually the surgeon put four stitches in it.
None of the bandages they used on my neck that day were as big as the one on Trumps ear.
He doesnt need it, he wants it.
Of course he is, he took the shot so his followers don’t have to.
Duh.
And we are talking about his exaggerated bandage in a negative way.
Duh.
And there is the double-standard. We do not see for a week, thereabouts, any reporters "crowding" the ambulatory and clearly 'able to speak (gab)' Donald calling for a detail listing of what ails him facially. This is typical media cuddling bull . . . .
He isn't wearing it today at his Michigan Rally.
Tell us why Biden is still in bed?
good for him
I think the bandage is fine. Today he’s got a couple bandaids on there. Do we really need to get upset about ordinary things?
I agree. Bandaidgate is least of my worries!
No doubt...
Who's upset? I's ludicrous.
I think it’s ludicrous anyone is talking about it and trying to ascribe some significance to it. He injured his ear - barely a week ago - so he has a bandage. What is there to talk about? Nothing as far as I’m concerned, but there are comments here, in media, all over.
Probably 99% of the commentary I have seen since this shooting is people focusing on the wrong things: Trump’s reactions, who is to blame, conspiracy theories. We are a fucked up people sometimes.
Trump is a pathological liar. He has no credibility even on the rare occasions when he is telling the truth.
Discovery learning?
You think he’s lying about his ear? You’re seriously thinking about that?
I never said that . Dont get hysterical. Should we depend on Donald Trump's word for things, that is what I am saying. No , we shouldnt.
At his rally today he claimed he has an IQ of 210 while Biden's is, according to Trump, 70.
Why have such an asshole leading our country? What kind of fools are happy with that?
At least half of this country will never accept Trump as president.
The future is grim.
We’re discussing a band-aid and you felt it necessary to point out that he’s a pathological liar. So if you don’t think he’s lying about his band-aid, why even bring it up?
Look in the mirror. Seriously.
You think someone is depending on the facts about his ear or his bandage? Who? Why?
Yeah, that’s called Rhetorical Hyperbole and every politician does it. He’s making the point that he thinks he’s smarter than Biden. That’s all. No one thinks the numbers are some kind of objective factual data.
I don’t want him to be president either, but treating 100% of the things he says or does as dangerous or scary is a paranoid delusion. Sometimes a bandage is just a bandage.
Well, then that makes them no better than the nutbags who think Trump is supposed to be president right now. To paraphrase Trump, there are crazy people on both sides.
If Trump said it was 75 degrees and raining at Maralago I would assume it was not 75 degrees and not raining. That is what I think of his honesty.
I don’t care what the weather is in Mar -A-Lago.
What’s more concerning is that you might care what Trump says about the weather.
LOL. No one in the history of politics in modern America ( I would say ever but we dont really have complete transcripts of what they were saying in the 1800's) has talked like a complete asshole as much as Trump does, SERIOUSLY.
You sound like you are not aware of that.
Hyperbole?? Youve got to be kidding.
Exactly, and you dont care if trumps a pathological liar or not. You have made that abundantly clear in most of your comments.
Now you're saying people who will never accept trump are nutbags. Get a grip for fucks sake.
I feel like people have forgotten Biden’s long and distinguished history of being full of shit. I’m not saying Trump isn’t worse, but Biden shouldn’t be winning any honesty prizes.
I'm done with this bullshit bothsidesism.
Yes, they are. Whoever wins a fair and legal election is the president. He’s my president and yours. That doesn’t mean I approve of him. It just means I respect our Constitution, our system, and our traditions.
But we have a problem. We have people who think it would be cool to settle the election by putting a bullet into one of the candidates. That is not ok and it should never be ok. Compared to that, I truly do not give a shit about Trump’s band-aid or his assessment of Biden’s IQ.
There is a reason a majority of American would prefer someone other than the two candidates. And there are good reasons. Denying that truth is a failing whether you are on the Left or the Right.
If only that were true.
Of course I care and I also understand that no matter what I write here, he won’t change.
I think you are creating self-justifying arguments.
Saying you dont accept Trump as president is not the same thing as denying that he is the legitimate president in terms of him being in office. We arent birthers after all or the kind of weirdos we have now who tell interviewers 2 or 3 years after he left office that Trump is still REALLY the president and secretly controls the US military.
Trump will never represent the values that I have for my country because by every appearance his values are the opposite of what I was taught and believed were American values growing up. Trump is chronically dishonest. He cheats. He bullys. He thinks everyone is beneath him. He disrespects women. The American values I grew up with do not culminate with someone being a humongous asshole. They just dont.
Your second paragraph is over the top. Sure there are some people who would have been happy if Trump was killed. Just like there are people who hope Taylor Swift's plane crashes or that Al Sharpton gets killed in a street robbery.
The issue some of us have been talking about is not whether the shooting of Trump should have taken place, but how it is being used in the presidential campaign. It should not have provoked your intense criticism.
People unwilling to admit that both sides are often guilty of the same things often have a problem with credibility
And a grip on reality
The Democrats and Biden are hardly perfect. But it is a choice and Trump is the most unfit for office candidate in US history. He is a traitor and a looming authoritarian.
Is America really going to elect a traitor president?
We would never live it down.
They may very well elect a president that they feel is best for the country, irregardless of the constant hyperbole (you forgot destroying democracy) promoted buy the left.
Calling Trump a traitor is not hyperbole, it is based on known facts. Trump approved of a plan to have the vice president throw out the votes of many millions of people and essentially declare Trump president again. He stayed with that plan up until the moment the Congress certified the election on the evening of Jan 6.
In addition he sat on his hands while the Capitol riot was taking place and did absolutely nothing to try and stop it. This is a disgrace for all eternity.
Trump has been asked (although not enough) specifically about this and he has changed the subject every time. This is extreme consciousness of guilt.
Trump said this to his supporters as the riot/insurrection wound down. After dozens of police had been injured.
He is a traitor.
He was justifying the insurrection.
It's worse, Donald is using high-soaring rhetoric to support a delusion that 'might ought to make right' against the Rule of Law!
I am shocked!
Shocked to find that great stupidity is going on in here!
You and me both.
Jus' kiddin'--- actually I'm not surprised at all!!!!
So much attention to such a trivial issue.
So , are you advocating for open medical records open to all and any that wish to look for any reason they deem fit ?
If so , i would say interesting stance to take .
I dont think all of trumps medical records should be disclosed because he got a cut on his ear, I think the treatment of the injury and what it entailed should be disclosed. He is running for president and is one of the two or three most newsworthy people in the country right now.
You aren’t changing your vote based on the medical description of his wound.
still , an interesting stance to take , even if now limited .
Strange that they now want open medical records, I vote both candidates do a live unedited cognitive tests, broadcast on all news channels.
Why?? He got nicked in the ear. It’s not like he had a stroke.
Don't be too sure...
Related video:
GENERAL HOSPITAL SPOILERS VIDEO: BIG QUESTIONS AND BIGGER EMOTIONS
Questions and Heartbreak
For Friday, July 19 on General Hospital , spoilers tease that the adults may think they are doing a good job of hiding the tension, but out of the mouths of one child, they get a wake-up call that they are failing. “Something weird’s going on that nobody’s saying,” James says to Maxie, Spinelli and Georgie.
How about just taking off the bandage so that his bloodless injury is visible? Maybe he’ll unveil that when he unveils his tax returns. He probably can’t show us the ear because it is under a medical audit.
Yes. So all the wannabe doctors on TV and the internet can make a proper evaluation of his boo-boo ear. Only then can we make an informed voting decision.
Wait. Bloodless?
It was fake blood-- actually a few Tablespoons of Heinz Ketchup!
(Obviously the evil Ultra-Woke "Neo-Libs" put it there!
)
Terisa Heinz wouldn’t use her dead republican catsup that made her rich to help Trump.
Enough with the ear bandage (teabag?) and the inanity of copycats, martyrdom is getting a bad name.
Here, here!
Going a tad nazi on you, the phrase is actually Hear, Hear!
least he didnt say Ear, ear .
Right you are.
There, there!
Exactly.
Blueanon is a bizarre place.
this obsession with a bandage seems to some sort of coping mechanism To deal with their partys conspiracy to hide the mental capacity of the president blowing up and leading to a coup attempt on the verge of their convention, something no one alive has seen.
but sure obsess about whether a band aid was really medically necessary
Isn’t it strange that the same people who demanded cloth masks at all times, now think a bandage for a bullet wound isn’t necessary?
Where you stand depends on what side of the aisle you sit.
Give the mask hysterics, you’d think the party would be more upset with a Covid positive Biden not wearing a mask while interacting with people than the possibility a band aid was superfluous.
i have found , upwind or upstream is generally more desirable .
I've seen the pictures. It looked to me like a small (tiny) chunk of the outer rim of his upper ear was removed by the bullet. I didnt see any wound to the inside of the ear and if there was one it would have been much more serious and he likely would have been hospitalized. This was a superficial tear of the edge of his ear. Be happy he was so lucky.
Good point. As Ootah said:
Enemies all around. The Bashkari are the worst. Whole town comes out, and pisses downstream when we go bathing.
The hair over his ear wasn’t even mussed. It supposedly bled a lot yet not a drop of spatter on the hair covering his ear. The blood didn’t even appear until he rose up from the ground. Then secret service just raises him up into the open as if the possibility of more shooters is impossible. Of course it is suspicious.
A .223 can do a number on skin and bone but is no match for Trump’s hairspray.
The more you talk the more you appear to be at peace with the idea that Trump would leverage an event that took lives and caused grievous injuries in his ongoing campaign of fraud.
At peace? No, but ranting about it here effects nothing.
Few here have said anything about those three victims, perhaps because they are just “trash”.
It’s been his MO for decades.
Therefore why bother mentioning it. Yeah we've heard that from you, a lot.
You would have to ask Hal.
You mean like the left leveraged the deaths of millions to win the presidency?
Spoken like true Trump sycophant.
So you deny the left leveraged how Trump handled Covid to win an election?
So you deny that Trump grossly mismanaged Covid? Tell that to Herman Cain when you see him down south of heaven.
I think that our COVID per capita mortality was around the same as Italy, Belgium, UK, Spain, Chile, etc.
Deflection fail, I didn’t say that. Shall we try again? Are you claiming that democrats didn’t use the death of Americans to win an election?
you opened this door .
.223 and 5.56 though similar are not the same .
the shooters rifle is verified as being chambered in 5.56 nato . it stands to reason thats the ammo he would have used because people are taught to only shoot ammo that the firearm is marked and chambered for .
the really big differece between the two rounds is chamber pressure , the 5.56 is much higher than a .223. that means a rifle chambered 5.56 , can shoot both rounds safely , where as on chambered 223 , if firing 5.56 will eventually fail . it has to do with metal tempering .
at about 100 meters , velocity starts to drop and both rounds are vastly different in that drop in velocity , there are many different factors that affect this .
as a reloader , here are some facts , @ 100 m 5.56 is going roughly2700 FPS ( yes im rounding ) a .223 round @ 100m is going roughly 2900 fps.
the faster a round is going , the less drop it will have because the forces that effect it have less time to create that effect .
my point here is , that difference of 200 fps also had an effect on the outcome of the incident . if the bullet had been going that much faster it would have reached the aim point sooner , with a much different result .
Thanks, I should have listened better looked it up first. Appreciate the reloading and ballistic info. Reminded of helping my father who reloaded both rifle and handgun rounds. I’m on my to see him and my sister now.
those are basically factory load velocities , for off the shelf ammo , one just has to look at ballistic tables with velocities at distance for the round
, now a reloader can tweak some things , i do it all the time .
But we are, and so should you.
More people died from Covid under Biden's watch than Trump's. That is with Biden having access to the vaccines that Trump rushed through; and the therapeutics.
What is Biden's excuse?
Also, name one country that handled Covid well?
I mean, he can afford to use really strong product on that hair. It’s probably a secret formula left over from the 80s. If it’s bulletproof, that wouldn’t surprise me.
To be fair, a lot of people mismanaged Covid. But you know, different strategies were tried all over the world and lots of people still died. For example, there was a lot of political debate over the contrasting strategies employed by California and Florida, but their death rates are actually pretty similar.
Thanks for that. That’s actually helpful, interesting information.
Don’t harsh Hal’s buzz.
I’m enjoying a nice scotch, so don’t give me too much credit.
I love the ‘The Queen of the Hebrides’, Islay scotch. When I drink it, I smell the ocean and taste the iodine in the peat.
Tonight, we were having Laphroaig Lore. I like picking something from Islay when we’re having fish.
Sure-- no problem!
(Remember, GIYF!
)
What countries handled COVID best?
It is clear that you have a new favorite word. “Hypocrisy” must be so disappointed.
I never heard of Blueanon until a few days ago, although it is probably a thing on far right talk radio.
There are Blueanon folks here. Last weekend they claimed the blood on Trump’s ear was from a theatrical gel pack; that the shooting was a “false flag,” that the scene of a bloodied Trump raising his fist under an American flag was “#staged.”
Almost like it was prepared in advance, to address a hidden bloodless wound that would obviously be questioned.
"Lawfare" didn't last too long, did it?
It's a construct from conservatives back in 2021 to dampen their association with Q-anon. It's taken them several years to fully adopt it as a slight. Get used to it, the term is overtaking 'woke' at lightspeed.
It's easier than continuously typing out "the reality averse, fanatical partisans who only get their news from far left blogs and who mindlessly regurgitate whatever talking points they are told to believe."
I am not without sympathy for blue anon. I get the need to lash out. It must be tough for those who came on sites like this and dutifully regurgitated the talking points that Biden's perfectly fine, that every single one of the countless videos showing otherwise were deepfakes, that behind closed doors he was a dynamic leader etc.. They have to, at this date, realize they were played like a violin by their party, again. The same people who told them to ignore their senses are now admitting Biden's anything but competent and that they have known he hasn't been fine for a long time.
The part of the brain of the BlueAnon cult member that remains rational must be embarrassed beyond belief. To continuously believe and stand behind their party's dogma only to end up looking foolish time after time must cause some major psychological trauma when those lies get exposed. Sadly, rather than coming to terms with the manipulation (it's a form of abuse really) they remain in denial and pivot to the next batshit crazy theory, that allows them to believe, for a little while anyway, that they are on the side of good saving humanity from NAzis, racists etc..Anything to avoid coming to terms with the reality of how they've used.
Do you wish to make Biden/Harris unelectable, or do you wish to make Trump unelectable? Since one of them is going to win you cant have it both ways.
The Dems are playing Game of Thrones.
And they are doing it against the clock.
Biden and Harris have made themselves unelectable.
Then consider this, what is the difference between the Lannisters and the Trumps?
The Lannisters always paid their debts!
Have you even read the books or watched by tv series?
If not then I suggest you do so before making that type of statement.
Lannisters always repay their debts in other people's blood.
Nothing like a veiled death threat.
Yes, paying $ debts is the only difference!
Another great blue anon example.
Thanks
And it ain't Biden!
... or some me2 sympathy tripe that 100s sported?
So how long before Woodward and Bernstein tell us bandage gate is worse than watergate?
I don’t understand why this is controversial. It’s just an ear, and clearly only a small piece of it. I could not care less about the state of his ear. It’s not like he was using it anyway.
"We now know more about Biden's just-diagnosed COVID case..."
Well, we know he doesn't really give a shit about the military who must be near him because he didn't care to follow the recommendation of wearing a mask.
Now, another picture for the NT Medical Corps
... that we can contrast with President No-Mask Joe.
But more transparency is still required as former RNC Chair Michael Steele and many others are saying.
Um, no
Of course many on the left won't believe it
Trump campaign releases letter on his injury, treatment after last week's assassination attempt (msn.com)
ROFL - a report from Ronny Johnson-Jackson, the same sycophantic “doctor” that claims Trump can live to be 200. Why would anyone question his photo-free findings?
This is what we can expect from a(nother) "Donald" administration. Tightly controlled narratives. Then, of course, it will be the whole of the federal system reset to the conservative (hive/) mind of Donald as its CEO/OWNER.
Wake up, America and vote for democracy.
This is your second chance, but 'third' strike ball!
Read the whole thing. Or don't