Donald Trump’s last-minute head tilt may have saved his life from assassin’s bullet that grazed his ear at Pennsylvania rally

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BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA: Former president Donald Trump came face to face with death when a gunman fired shots at him during his speech at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. However, the gunshot only grazed his right ear.

The Republican presumptive nominee could have been killed in the attempted assassination if he had not tilted his head in a split second before the bullet whizzed past him, and this last millisecond action saved his life.

The shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, aimed at Trump from a rooftop of a building located 130 yards away from the podium and fired eight shots, killing a rally attendee and severely injuring two others.

A Secret Service sniper immediately neutralized the 20-year-old would-be assassin, who died on the spot.

Trump, who instantly crouched to the ground, later said on his Truth Social platform that the bullet pierced the upper side of his right ear. There was blood oozing out of the MAGA spearhead's ear into the face while he was evacuated from the scene by the Secret Service agents.

Donald Trump turning to look at jumbotron saved him from deadly bullet

Donald Trump's senior adviser, Dan Scavino Jr, noted that the former president turned his head to the right while speaking to his supporters at the Butler Farm Show grounds to "use and reference the jumbotron", according to New York Post.

The split-second move came at the exact moment Crooks fired at the real estate mogul's head, causing the bullet to only graze his ear instead of piercing his skull, said Israeli Special Operations veteran Aaron Cohen to Fox News.

"Snipers are typically trained to shoot into the cerebral cortex of the cerebellum at the top of the brain stem," he further explained to host Trace Gallagher.

"It incapacitates you, it keeps your hands from moving…  It's about the distance of the shot. One hundred-thirty yards. That's a putt. Anyone can put a .223 optic on a target from that distance and hit it. It's not a difficult shot to make…" Cohen continued.

The veteran added that if Trump had kept his head straight at the moment of the shot, the bullet would have gone into his ear, and "it would have been lights out." The former president's move to turn his head away as the shot came saved his life, noted Cohen.

Photos and videos that went viral after the attempted assassination clearly depicted the bullet whizzing extremely close to Trump's ear, which would have been fatal.

Frantic efforts to evacuate Donald Trump from stage could have put him in grave danger

Despite Donald Trump unknowingly saving himself from the bullet, the frenzy that followed could have exposed him to further danger. Immediately after the shot, Secret Service agents swarmed to surround the former president, who was on the ground. And undoubtedly, the following moments to rush him off the podium into the motorcade were frantic.

Weighing in on how the Secret Service managed the unexpected turn of events, former FBI Special Agent Jonathan Gilliam told 'Fox & Friends First', "Having worked with the Secret Service before, as I was watching this unfold, I could not believe how long this played out before they got him off of that stage into the car, and then it took that vehicle that long to depart that area."

"It was a lifetime from a protection standpoint," he added.

Gilliam also joined the growing criticism against the Secret Service that failed to prevent an attempted assassination against the former president. He observed that the agents' actions did not exemplify their elite training, as their defense of Trump and subsequent movements seemed improvized.

Former FBI Director Chris Swecker, concurring with Gilliam's viewpoint, asserted the attempt to safeguard Trump was "almost a kill shot".

"If there had been a second shooter, there would have been plenty of opportunity to take him out again, so this breaks every rule of the Secret Service protocol and just general executive protection in general," he added.

Swecker criticized the Secret Service for failing in the primary mission, preventing these kinds of events, and acting quickly to evacuate Trump from the danger zone. He noted both did not happen at Pennysylvania and deemed it a "security breakdown".

Retired Secret Service Agent Jeff James noted the agency should have taken a different approach due to the unique challenges posed by outdoor events. According to him, the Secret Service agents should not have given in to Trump's demand to get his shoes before hurrying off the stage.

A microphone captured Trump's voice, and he heard saying, "Let me get my shoes," as the agents tried safely removing him from the podium.

Trump, who traveled to New Jersey after a medical examination at Butler Memorial Hospital, will attend the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week as scheduled.