Trump’s reaction to attack draws comparisons to President Ronald Reagan’s shooting
Donald Trump’s doctor revealed the physical and emotional state of the former US president after being shot in the face, drawing comparisons to the attempted assasination of Ronald Reagan.
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Donald Trump’s personal doctor has revealed the former president is in high spirits despite his injury, even making a wisecrack much like Ronald Reagan did from his hospital bed.
Dr Ronny Jackson, who treated Trump in the wake of the shooting at a Pennsylvania, appeared on conservative YouTuber Benny Johnson’s show where he revealed the 78-year-old would lose a small part from the top of his ear.
“Evander Holyfield,” one of the hosts quipped, referring to the boxer who had part of his ear bitten off by Mike Tyson.
“He told me that too,” Dr Jackson laughed.
The anecdote adds to the growing number of comparisons being drawn between Trump’s reaction to the attempt on his life and that of Mr Reagan when he was shot early in his presidency in 1981.
“Honey, I forgot to duck,” Reagan is said to have told First Lady Nancy Reagan when she first saw him at the hospital.
Unlike Trump who sustained relatively minor injuries, Reagan almost died when a bullet punctured his lung, broke a rib and caused severe internal bleeding.
Trump personally knows Holyfield as he was paid A$3.7million to call his fight with UFC champion Vitor Belfort in 2021.
Dr Jackson said he felt privileged to have a close relationship with Trump.
“I know him pretty well – I’ve been his doctor for a long time. I’ve become a really good friend as well,” Dr Jackson said on The Benny Show.
He told The Benny Show the former president was “lucky”.
LISTEN: Dr. Ronny Jackson discusses the assessment he did on Donald Trumps' ear after the assassination attempt on him:
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 16, 2024
"I checked his ear out. I dressed his ear up this morning.. It was far enough away from his head that there was no concussive effects from the bullet and it… pic.twitter.com/82prn4Zg7H
“It was far enough away from his head that there was no concussive effects from the bullet and it just took the top of his ear off a little bit,” Dr Jackson said.
“It was bleeding like crazy because the ear is pretty vascular and bleeds pretty badly.
“I bandaged it up pretty good this morning. It’s also not like a clean laceration like you would have with a knife or a blade. It’s a bullet track going by. “
“It’s going to granulate and heal in. he’s not going to need anything done to it. It’s going to be fine.”
Trump campaign pollster John McLaughlin told The New York Post Trump’s bravery mirrored that of Reagan.
“I compare President Trump to President Ronald Reagan. You get historic respect for this,” Mr McLaughlin said.
“This is a historic moment in a historic campaign.”
On March 30, 1981, President Reagan, then 70, was shot by deranged gunman John Hinckley just over two months into his first term.
Showing grace under pressure, the former actor cracked jokes to show the country that he was OK.
Similarly, Mr McLaughlin noted that Trump’s spirited response of pumping his fist in the air and urging supporters to “fight, fight” after being shot, while being swiftly removed from the campaign rally stage by Secret Service agents, will have a comparable and enduring impact.
Independent presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr., whose father and uncle were assassinated in the 1960s, praised Trump’s response as “inspirational.”
“He’s determined. There was a dignified poise and determination,” he said.
“That was his instant reaction. He loves the people who attend his rallies. It’s about more than him.”
Mr McLaughlin said Trump will never give up or give in to his detractors — and it showed in that one moment.
He also likened the 78-year-old to former South African President and anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela.
“Everything they’ve thrown at him — the impeachments, the indictments and now someone tried to kill him — a lot of other people would have folded,” he said.
“Like with Reagan, there’s a relief that he’s OK — and it re-energises the mission. We go on from here.”
US NO STRANGER TO POLITICAL VIOLENCE AND ASSASSINATIONS
While some claim the shooting of Donald Trump is a by-product of America’s bitter partisan divide, the reality is that the USA is no stranger to political assassinations, and violence against politicians is an increasing problem worldwide.
A 2008 research paper by the Congressional Research Service, predating the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations, said direct assaults against Presidents, Presidents-elect, and candidates had occurred on 15 separate occasions in US history, with five resulting in death.
The most recent shooting of a candidate on the election trail was Alabama Governor George C Wallace, who was seeking the Democratic nomination for the presidency in May 1972 when he was shot in Maryland.
The then 52 year old was left paralysed from the waist down after bullets ruptured his spine. The shooting ended his campaign.
The most recent fatal shooting of a candidate during a campaign was Robert F Kennedy, in May 1968. The then Senator was one of a number of candidates seeking the Democratic nomination, following President Lyndon Johnson’s surprise decision not to re-stand, when he was shot by an extremist who opposed RFK’s stand on the Israeli/Arab conflict.
John F Kennedy was one year out from potential re-election when he was gunned down in Dallas, Texas, in November 1963, but other presidents were fairly early into their terms when their were attempts made on their life.
Ronald Reagan was just two months into his term when he was shot in 1981, while Gerald Ford survived two assassination attempts just over a year after he assumed the presidency.
Members of Congress have also been targeted by shooters. Gabby Giffords, a Democrat from Arizona, suffered a traumatic brain injury when she was hit in the head at a constituent event in January 2011, while Steve Scalise, a Republican from Louisiana, was shot in the hip by an extremist at a sporting event in 2017.
Worldwide, there has been alarm about the violence faced by political candidates after a number of shocking, high-profile assassinations.
In 2022 the former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot dead during a campaign event in Nara, while Britain has reeled from two tragedies: the shooting and stabbing of 41 year old Labour MP Jo Cox in 2016, and the fatal stabbing of Conservative MP David Amess by an Islamic extremist in 2021.
In the recent British elections, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage had a milkshake and wet cement thrown at him while campaigning. A noted supporter of Trump, Farage vowed he “will not surrender to the mob”.
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Originally published as Trump’s reaction to attack draws comparisons to President Ronald Reagan’s shooting
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