Trump continued to troll Biden in emergency room after getting shot at Butler rally, reveals new book
BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA: By now, everyone has seen the footage—the chaos, the gunfire, the dramatic fist pump after the assassination attempt on President Donald Trump's life.
The date, July 13, 2024, was one of the most unforgettable moments in modern political history. Then-GOP nominee Donald Trump, standing at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, was shot at in an assassination attempt that shook the very foundation of the nation.
Trump hit the ground as he was swarmed by Secret Service agents, then rose to his feet—bloodied but defiant—as he fist-pumped to the roaring crowd.
But while the world saw those historic moments unfold in real time, we didn't know what happened next behind the scenes—until now.
An excerpt from 'REVENGE: The Inside Story of Trump’s Return to Power' by Alex Isenstadt has been published in Vanity Fair, and we now have a closer look at what went down after Trump left the stage.
In a nutshell, it played out exactly how you’d expect.
Donald Trump trolls Joe Biden from hospital bed
Once rushed to Butler Memorial Hospital, Donald Trump was taken to the emergency room, where patients were immediately cleared out to create a secure wing just for him.
Even though he was able to walk, hospital staff put him on a stretcher and rolled him through the corridors in just an undershirt and his suit pants. But even at that moment, Trump knew exactly what was happening.
“This is going to make some news," he quipped.
Even after taking a bullet, Trump had the presence of mind to recognize history unfolding in real time.
Doctors ran a CT scan to check for a possible concussion. The results were all clear. And Trump naturally had one request when he found out.
“Can you give me a copy of these? Because I want to make sure I can show reporters that my cognitive function is 100 percent. You can’t say the same about Joe Biden," he insisted.
Doctors handed him a CD with his test results, and he promised to release them “at a later time.”
Of course, in the end, he never needed to. Just weeks later, Biden would bow out of the race as he crumbled under mounting pressure from his party over his diminished cognitive function.
Donald Trump’s reaction to the now-iconic photo
As he recovered, Trump watched Biden’s speech about the shooting. But then, he wanted to see his own moment in the limelight—the photos of him standing back up, fist raised.
“Wow, that’s iconic. That’s the most American picture I’ve ever seen," he remarked about his own photograph.
And as for the bloodstained suit he was wearing when he got shot, Trump already had big plans for it. “This is going into the museum," he declared.
There’s no doubt that July 13 changed everything. It wasn’t just an assassination attempt—it was a moment that cemented Trump’s image as this unshakable, unstoppable leader his supporters see him as.
It also solidified the contrast between him and his Democrat opponent at the time. While Biden was already struggling to fight off concerns about his cognitive decline, Trump’s resilience in the face of an attack made his eventual election victory almost inevitable, Whiskey Riff noted.
