More than a year after the world witnessed an attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump—an attack that left him bleeding from the ear and claimed the life of a local firefighter—some media figures are still acting like it never happened.
During a recent segment on CNN, a panelist appeared to question whether Trump was ever actually shot during the July 13, 2024 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, opened fire from a rooftop with a high-powered rifle, striking Trump in the upper right ear and injuring two others. One spectator, Corey Comperatore, was killed shielding his family. The attack was captured on multiple angles of live video and prompted a Secret Service response that has been studied in detail ever since.
Yet when the panel discussion turned to Trump’s recent diagnosis of a minor vein condition, the guest seemed to downplay—or outright deny—the events of that day. “When he supposedly got shot in the ear, we never heard from his doctors on that,” the panelist said, casting doubt on an event confirmed by the FBI, Secret Service, and numerous eyewitnesses.
When pressed to clarify whether he believed Trump had actually been shot, the panelist hedged: “I wasn’t there. I don’t know. I don’t know.”
That response didn’t just leave viewers scratching their heads—it visibly stunned Scott Jennings, CNN’s token conservative commentator. Jennings, who was present during the panel, reacted in disbelief that this narrative was still being floated nearly 13 months after the attack.
To be clear: Trump was shot. The FBI confirmed it. The medical reports confirmed it. The bloodied images of Trump on stage—his fist raised defiantly—were broadcast around the world. A sitting president narrowly escaped an assassination attempt. And yet, somehow, this fact is now up for debate on national television?
For years, conservatives have been labeled the “conspiracy theorists” by legacy media. But when presented with hard evidence—including video footage, ballistic reports, and a deceased perpetrator—some media personalities are now engaging in revisionism that borders on denialism.
It’s one thing to debate politics. It’s another to pretend a documented act of political violence didn’t occur.
Watch the full exchange here and decide for yourself what’s more dangerous: so-called conspiracy theories, or willful denial of recorded history.
On the one-year anniversary of Butler, I sat next to a real-life "ear truther" tonight on CNN. Wild. You won’t believe it ? pic.twitter.com/ycWewcflGQ
— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) July 18, 2025