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Loreben Tuquero
By Loreben Tuquero July 16, 2024

Does a photo show that Trump’s ear ‘grew back’ after assassination attempt? No, it’s from 2022

If Your Time is short

  • The photo was uploaded in September 2022. 

  • Trump’s first public appearance after the shooting was July 15 at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. His right ear was bandaged. ​

A shooter targeted former President Donald Trump in an assassination attempt during a July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump’s ear was wounded, but he was otherwise unharmed.

Some social media posts claim his ear healed extraordinarily quickly.

"The top part of his ear grew back. (Yes. This is from today)," a July 15 X post read. The post featured a photo of Trump with an unharmed ear.

A July 15 Threads post shared a screenshot of the X post with the same claim.

(Screenshot from Threads)

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It was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)

The photo of Trump the posts used was not captured after the assassination attempt. A reverse-image search showed the photo was taken in 2022.

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It was cropped from a Reuters photo taken Sept. 17, 2022, of Trump listening to Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, speak at a rally in Youngstown, Ohio, when Vance was a Senate candidate. Trump announced July 15 that Vance would be his running mate.

Trump’s first public appearance after the shooting was July 15 at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. His right ear was bandaged

Former President Donald Trump, the 2024 Republican nominee for president, watches July 15, 2024, during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. (AP)

We rate the claim that a photo shows Trump’s ear "grew back" Pants on Fire!

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Does a photo show that Trump’s ear ‘grew back’ after assassination attempt? No, it’s from 2022

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