President Donald Trump has revealed new details about the dramatic moments following the July 2024 assassination attempt that nearly claimed his life, describing the scene in the hospital as so bloody that his aides believed he had been shot multiple times.
In an excerpt from the upcoming book 2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America, published by The Washington Post, Trump recounts the harrowing incident at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. On July 13, 2024, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire from a rooftop approximately 100 yards away, striking Trump as he spoke on stage.
Secret Service agents immediately tackled the then-presumptive Republican nominee and rushed him to safety. He was later transported to a nearby hospital where he was found sitting up in bed, still wearing his suit, with a blood-soaked bandage on his ear.
“There was blood everywhere,” Trump recalled in an interview for the book. “It was bleeding like a b****. They thought I had four or five bullets in me.”
Aides including Susie Wiles, Steven Cheung, and Dan Scavino initially feared the worst. But their panic eased once Trump, in typical fashion, began cracking jokes from his hospital bed.
The incident became a major turning point in the 2024 campaign. Following the attempt on his life, Trump received a wave of public support—including from unlikely allies. According to the book, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos praised Trump’s instincts and expressed a desire to build a relationship. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly called Trump’s raised-fist moment after being shot “one of the most badass things” he’d ever seen.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk also voiced his backing, issuing a full-throated endorsement that same day: “I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery,” Musk posted on X.
After the hospital visit, Trump was flown to his Bedminster, New Jersey residence, where his wife Melania awaited him. The authors note that “Trump loved it. He was having a great time,” reveling in the surge of attention and unexpected support.
The book also details a brief phone call between Trump and then-President Joe Biden, just two weeks after their tense and widely criticized debate. The call was short but cordial. “Very nice, actually,” Trump described it.
