An annoyed Donald Trump has lashed out on social media insisting he was struck by a bullet in the assassination attempt against him after the head of the FBI noted that he may have been hit by "shrapnel."
The FBI has asked to interview Trump in its investigation of the attack at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, earlier this month, the New York Times reported Friday, citing an unnamed agency official.
FBI investigators are also examining "numerous metal fragments" found near the rally stage to determine if Trump was struck by a bullet or "potential debris," the newspaper added.
Trump emphasized in a post on Truth Social Thursday night: "The hospital called it a 'bullet wound to the ear,' and that is what it was."
The hospital has not said publicly that Trump was injured by a bullet because Trump has not allowed the release of his medical report by Butler Memorial, the nearby hospital that treated his injuries, which has raised questions.
"It was unfortunately, a bullet that hit my ear, and hit it hard," added Trump, who has characterized his near miss as divine intervention.
Trump has said he felt a bullet from the shooter's assault-style rifle "ripping through the skin" of his ear, though he needed no stitches to repair the damage.
Gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, killed former Pennsylvania volunteer fire chief Corey Comperatore, and seriously injured two others attending the Trump rally.
FBI Director Christopher Wray said Wednesday in testimony before the House Judiciary Committee that the agency is not certain Trump's injury wound was caused by a bullet.
"There's some question about whether or not it's a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear," Wray said.
At another point he noted that it was his "understanding that either [a bullet] or some shrapnel is what grazed his ear."
Trump's former White House doctor and ally Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) visited Trump at Mar-a-Lago days after the shooting and affixed a bandage to Trump's ear before the Republican National Convention.
Jackson said in a memo issued last Sunday by the Trump campaign that the former president suffered a gunshot wound that came "less than a quarter of an inch from entering his head, and struck the top of his right ear," leaving a "2 cm wide" wound.
Earlier Jackson had said in a podcast interview that Trump was missing part of his ear, a "little bit at the top."
According to the Florida Department of Health website, Jackson's medical license is conditioned on serving in the military and only authorizes him to practice in a military facility. He left the Navy in 2019.
Jackson's board certification in emergency medicine is valid through the end of next year but he needs a license to practice medicine, the Dallas Morning News reported in September.
A local police source reportedly told Newsmax after the shooting that Trump may have been hit by glass fragments from a shattered teleprompter. But sources have told the Times that all teleprompter glass was intact, and they are instead examining metal fragments.
