FBI director not sure if it was a bullet that hit Donald Trump in assassination attempt; former US president reacts

Donald Trump has criticised FBI Director Christopher Wray after Wray's Congressional hearing. About the assassination attempt on the former US president on July 13, Wray said he was uncertain if it was a bullet or a shrapnel that hit Trump in the ear during an outdoor rally in Pennsylvania.

It was Trump who appointed Wray as FBI director in 2017. The Republican candidate has now blasted Wray by saying that the FBI director is uncertain whether Trump was hit by shrapnel, glass or a bullet but was certain "Crooked Joe Biden was physically and cognitively 'uneventful'".

Trump accused Wray of being unaware of terrorists and criminals entering the country, focusing instead on targetting January 6 (US Capitol attack) supporters, raiding Mar-a-Lago and protecting “Radical Left Lunatics, like the ones now in D.C. burning American flags and spray painting over our great National Monuments - with zero retribution”.

"No, it was, unfortunately, a bullet that hit my ear, and hit it hard. There was no glass, there was no shrapnel. The hospital called it a "bullet wound to the ear," and that is what it was. No wonder the once storied FBI has lost the confidence of America!" Trump wrote on Truth, a social media platform he owns.

Donald Trump: Conspiracy theories

The Donald Trump assassination attempt triggered a surge of conspiracy theories. These theories suggest either a deep state coup or a staged event by Trump himself for sympathy and electoral gain. A common element in these theories is the claim of a second shooter positioned on a nearby water tower.

Some believe the shooter, Thomas Crooks, was a scapegoat framed to take the blame, and a second shooter on the water tower silenced him afterward. Others think the second shooter, a professional, was the one who fired at Trump, aiming to create a convincing but non-lethal injury for a false flag operation.