Posts misrepresent old Trump photo to question assassination attempt

"This image of Trump was taken today. There is absolutely nothing wrong with his ear, and it has zero damage, FROM A BULLET," says a July 15, 2024 post on X. "Everything about Trump is a con or a grift." 

The same image and claim have circulated elsewhere on X, Threads and TikTok -- fueling baseless conspiracy theories that the shooting was "staged."

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Screenshot from X taken July 16, 2024

Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, opened fire on Trump during the Butler rally, hitting him in the ear, killing one bystander and injuring two others before a Secret Service sniper team shot and killed the would-be assassin. The FBI is investigating Crooks's motive for the attack (archived here).

Days later, Trump appeared at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to receive his party's nomination for president and announce US Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate.

Trump did not arrive at the event unscathed, as posts online claim -- AFP photos show him with a bandage over his right ear.

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Former US president and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump (L) shakes hands with US Senator J.D. Vance during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 15, 2024 (AFP / Brendan SMIALOWSKI)

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Former US president and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump wears a bandage on his ear after being wounded in an assassination attempt during the first day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 15, 2024 (AFP / Brendan SMIALOWSKI)

Trump said July 13 on his social media platform Truth Social that a bullet had "pierced the upper part of my right ear" (archived here).

AFP photos and graphic footage from the Trump rally show the former president was wounded in the attack.

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Republican candidate Donald Trump is seen with blood on his face as he is surrounded by Secret Service agents to be taken off the stage at a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024 (AFP / Rebecca DROKE)

(DC POOL / Gregory WALTON, Anne LEBRETON, Gilles CLARENNE, Moisés ÁVILA)

A reverse image search revealed the photo shared online was taken by Reuters photographer Gaelen Morse at a September 2022 event in Youngstown, Ohio for Vance's Senate campaign (archived here).

Multiple news outlets ran the photo after Trump announced Vance as his pick for vice president.

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Screenshot from Reuters taken July 16, 2024

AFP has debunked other claims about the attempted assassination of Trump here.