Fact-Check: No, This Image Doesn’t Show Bullet Hole in Donald Trump’s Coat

An image of former United States President Donald Trump is going viral on the internet to claim that he was also shot in his chest but the bullet was stopped as Trump was wearing a bulletproof vest.

What do viral posts say?: Those sharing the image have uploaded it with a caption that said, "Trump just started wearing a bulletproof vest as advised by his security detail. It saved his life!! He took a shot to the chest!!."

At the time of writing this report, the post had garnered over four million views on the platform. (Archives of similar claims can be viewed here, here, and here.)

Are these claims true?: The original image showed a fold in the coat's sleeve of one of the security officers protecting Trump and not a bullet hole as claimed.

How did we find that out?: We performed a keyword search on Google with the words "trump shot images" and came across an article published by Associated Press (AP).

• The article showed a collection of images from the shooting that took place at Trump's rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

• We found a zoomed-out version of the viral image uploaded in the article, which showed a fold in the left sleeve of one of the security officers. They were seen guarding Trump after he was reportedly shot in his ear during the rally.

• The image's caption said, "Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surround by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)."

• Team WebQoof came across another image in the same report, which didn't show any bullet mark on Trump's coat.

Other sources: The official YouTube channel of CNN had shared visuals from the rally, which showed Trump grabbing his ear after being shot. We did not find any evidence to prove that he was also shot on his chest.

News reports: As per a report in Reuters, shots were fired during Trump's rally which hit his right ear and left blood marks on his face. The incident led to the death of one person in the crowd and left two others injured.

• The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identified the shooter as one 'Thomas Matthew Crooks'.

What did Trump say after the shooting?: Thanking everyone for their prayers on social media platform 'Truth Social', Trump said that the God prevented the unthinkable from happening.

• He asked people to stand united and to not allow "evil to win".

• In an earlier post, Trump described that a bullet pierced the upper part of his right ear. He also thanked The United States Secret Service and all of Law Enforcement for their response during the attack.

Conclusion: It is clear that this image is being shared to falsely claim that it shows a bullet hole in the coat of former US President Donald Trump.

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