Current:Home > BackTrump has given no official info about his medical care for days since an assassination attempt-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Trump has given no official info about his medical care for days since an assassination attempt
View Date:2024-12-23 16:21:58
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Four days after a gunman’s attempt to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally, the public is still in the dark over the extent of his injuries, what treatment the Republican presidential nominee received in the hospital, and whether there may be any long-term effects on his health.
Trump’s campaign has refused to discuss his condition, release a medical report or records, or make the doctors who treated him available, leaving information to dribble out from Trump, his friends and family.
The first word on Trump’s condition came about half an hour after shots rang out and Trump dropped to the ground after reaching for his ear and then pumped his fist defiantly to the crowd with blood streaming down his face. The campaign issued a statement saying he was “fine” and “being checked out at a local medical facility.”
“More details will follow,” his spokesperson said.
It wasn’t until 8:42 p.m., however, that Trump told the public he had been struck by a bullet as opposed to shrapnel or debris. In a post on his social media network, Trump wrote that he was “shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part” of his right ear.
“I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin,” he wrote.
What to know about the 2024 Election
- Democracy: American democracy has overcome big stress tests since 2020. More challenges lie ahead in 2024.
- AP’s Role: The Associated Press is the most trusted source of information on election night, with a history of accuracy dating to 1848. Learn more.
- Read the latest: Follow AP’s live coverage of this year’s election.
Presidents and major-party candidates have long had to balance their right to doctor-patient confidentiality with the public’s expectations that they demonstrate they are healthy enough to serve, particularly when questions arise about their readiness. Trump, for example, has long pressed President Joe Biden to take a cognitive test as the Democrat faces doubts after his stumbling performance in last month’s debate.
After a would-be assassin shot and gravely wounded President Ronald Reagan in 1981, the Washington, D.C., hospital where he was treated gave regular, detailed public updates about his condition and treatment.
Trump has appeared at the Republican National Convention the past three days with a bandage over his right ear. But there has been no further word since Saturday from Trump’s campaign or other officials on his condition or treatment.
Instead, it has been allies and family members sharing news.
Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, who served as Trump’s White House doctor and traveled to be with him after the shooting, said in a podcast interview Monday that Trump was missing part of his ear — “a little bit at the top” — but that the wound would heal.
“He was lucky,” Jackson said on “The Benny Show,” a conservative podcast hosted by Benny Johnson. ”It was far enough away from his head that there was no concussive effects from the bullet. And it just took the top of his ear off, a little bit of the top of this ear off as it passed through.”
He said that the area would need to be treated with care to avoid further bleeding — “It’s not like a clean laceration like you would have with a knife or a blade, it’s a bullet track going by,” he said — but that Trump is “not going to need anything to be done with it. It’s going to be fine.”
The former president’s son Eric Trump said in an interview with CBS on Wednesday that his father had had “no stitches but certainly a nice flesh wound.”
The lack of information continues a pattern for Trump, who has released minimal medical information throughout his political career.
When he first ran in 2016, Trump declined to release full medical records, and instead released a note from his doctor that declared Trump would be “the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.”
Dr. Harold Bornstein later revealed that the glowing, four-paragraph assessment was written in 5 minutes as a car sent by Trump to collect it waited outside.
Jackson, after administering a physical to Trump in 2018, drew headlines for extolling the then-president’s “incredibly good genes” and suggesting that “if he had a healthier diet over the last 20 years he might live to be 200 years old.”
When Trump was infected with the coronavirus in the midst of his 2020 re-election campaign, his doctors and aides tried to downplay the severity of his condition and withheld information about how sick he was and key details of his treatment.
Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows wrote in his book that Trump’s blood oxygen dropped to a “dangerously low level” and that there were concerns that Trump would not be able to walk on his own if he had waited longer to be transported to Walter Reed for treatment.
veryGood! (68355)
Related
- Judith Jamison, a dancer both eloquent and elegant, led Ailey troupe to success over two decades
- Apple's Tim Cook wins restraining order against woman, citing trespassing and threats
- Instagram unveils new teen safety tools ahead of Senate hearing
- Stampede in Yemen leaves scores dead as gunfire spooks crowd waiting for small Ramadan cash handouts
- Sister Wives’ Christine Brown Shares Glimpse Into Honeymoon One Year After Marrying David Woolley
- Look Back on Vanderpump Rules' Most Shocking Cheating Scandals
- California sues Tesla over alleged rampant discrimination against Black employees
- Architect behind Googleplex now says it's 'dangerous' to work at such a posh office
- Multi-State Offshore Wind Pact Weakened After Connecticut Sits Out First Selection
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in Japan as he considers presidential bid
Ranking
- Pennsylvania House Republicans pick new floor leader after failing to regain majority
- 2023 Coachella & Stagecoach Packing Guide: Necklaces, Rings, Body Chains, & More to Complete Your Outfit
- Lindsay Lohan's Ex Samantha Ronson Reacts to Her Pregnancy News
- Online betting companies are kicking off a Super Bowl ad blitz
- Inside Dream Kardashian's Sporty 8th Birthday Party
- Thousands of Americans still trying to escape Sudan after embassy staff evacuated
- As the jury deliberates Elizabeth Holmes' fate, experts say 'fraud is complicated'
- Amazon warehouse workers in Alabama vote for second time in union effort
Recommendation
-
Ex-Phoenix Suns employee files racial discrimination, retaliation lawsuit against the team
-
Justice Department asks Congress for more authority to give proceeds from seized Russian assets to Ukraine
-
Paris Hilton Hilariously Calls Out Mom Kathy Hilton for Showing Up “Unannounced” to See Baby Phoenix
-
How some states are trying to upgrade their glitchy, outdated health care technology
-
Stock market today: Asian shares mostly decline, shrugging off Wall Street’s overnight rally
-
For $186,000, this private Scottish island could be yours — but don't count on being able to live there
-
Ulta 24-Hour Flash Sale: Take 50% Off Elizabeth Arden, Dermablend, Nudestix, Belif, Korres, and More
-
Sick elephant dies at Pakistani zoo days after critical medical procedure