Trump's top aides feared he was shot five times during Butler assassination attempt: 'So much blood'

In the book '2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America,' Donald Trump revealed what really happened after the shooting
PUBLISHED JUL 2, 2025
Donald Trump's top aides feared that he was shot multiple times during the assassination attempt (Getty Images)
Donald Trump's top aides feared that he was shot multiple times during the assassination attempt (Getty Images)

BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA: It’s been nearly a year since that jaw-dropping moment in Butler, Pennsylvania, when a would-be assassin took aim at then-candidate Donald Trump.

In an excerpt from the upcoming book '2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America,' obtained by The Washington Post, Trump opened up about what really went on behind the scenes after the attempt on his life.

Donald Trump details hospital moments after assassination attempt in new book

Donald Trump had just taken the stage at a campaign rally on July 13 when 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire from the rooftop of a building roughly 100 yards away. Secret Service agents immediately tackled Trump to the ground and rushed him to the hospital.

“Trump was sitting up in bed, still wearing his suit. A bandage covered his ear. There was blood everywhere,” the book reveals.

Secret Service tend to republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump onstage after he was grazed by a bullet at a rally on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. Butler county district attorney Richard Goldinger said the shooter is dead after injuring former President Trump, killing one audience member and injuring another in the shooting. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Secret Service tend to Donald Trump onstage after he was grazed by a bullet at a rally on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“It was bleeding like a b****,” he told the authors in a later interview. The bleeding was so intense that even his closest aides feared he’d been shot multiple times.

“They thought I had four or five bullets in me because there was so much blood,” he said, referring to his inner circle, future White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, future Communications Head Steven Cheung, and future Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino.

But it wasn’t long before the jokes started flying. The three soon realized Trump was alright "because he started making jokes" in his hospital bed, the book adds. 

How a near-fatal shooting became the defining moment of Donald Trump’s 2024 comeback

Fox Nation’s recent docu-special, 'Art of the Surge: The Donald Trump Comeback,' brought renewed attention to the dramatic moment with never-before-seen drone footage of the rally and the Secret Service's frantic response.



 

Trump reflected on just how close he came to death that day. “130 yards is like sinking a one-foot putt,” he told the outlet, referring to the sniper’s distance. “It’s considered really close.”

But it wasn’t just a brush with death, it was the turning point of his 2024 campaign.

Suddenly, Trump wasn’t just a candidate, he was a survivor. Even some of his most unlikely former critics came forward. Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg, two of Trump’s most vocal Silicon Valley adversaries, changed their tune after witnessing him take a bullet and live to pump his fist moments later.

“Bezos said Trump’s instincts showed who he was, and he wanted them to have a friendship,” the book notes. Susie Wiles herself was floored. “Before, some of these people wouldn’t give him the time of day. Trump loved it. He was having a great time,” she said.

Zuckerberg was starstruck. The Facebook founder said that seeing Trump "pump his fist in the air" after getting shot was "one of the most badass things" he’d seen in his life.



 

That same day, Elon Musk made his stance clear. “I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery,” Musk posted on X (formerly Twitter).

Joe Biden reaches out, Melania Trump hugs Donald Trump following shooting incident

Trump even had a brief, civil phone call with then-President Joe Biden, who was still recovering from a bruising debate performance just weeks earlier.

“The exchange was awkward after their tense debate just two weeks earlier,” the book recounts. “The call was brief. But Trump described it as ‘very nice, actually.’”

After getting patched up, Trump was discharged and flown to his Bedminster, New Jersey estate, where Melania Trump was waiting to greet her battle-scarred husband.

Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump kisses former first lady Melania Trump as he arrives to speak during an election night event at the Palm Beach Convention Center on November 06, 2024 in West Palm Beach, Florida. Americans cast their ballots today in the presidential race between Republican nominee former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as multiple state elections that will determine the balance of power in Congress. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Donald Trump kisses First Lady Melania Trump as he arrives to speak during an election night event at the Palm Beach Convention Center on November 06, 2024 in West Palm Beach, Florida (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

'2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America' officially drops July 8.

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