Following an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, some attendees at the Republican National Convention have shown their support by wearing homemade ear bandages. The incident occurred at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where a gunman fired shots, injuring the former president on his right ear and killing 50-year-old Corey Comperatore. Two others, David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74, were also injured but are now in stable condition. Investigators are still working to determine the motive behind the shooting.
Trump’s former doctor, Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas, examined Trump’s injury and told the New York Times, “The bullet took a little bit off the top of his ear in an area that, just by nature, bleeds like crazy.” Despite his injury, Trump made his first public appearance since the shooting at the Republican National Convention, wearing white gauze wrapped around his ear.
On the second night of the convention, delegates and attendees were seen wearing makeshift "bandages" on their right ears to show solidarity with Trump. These bandages ranged from folded-up slips of paper to pieces of tape. Arizona delegate Joe Neglia was one of the first photographed wearing an ear bandage, telling CBS News that he made it from an envelope "on the bus on the way here." Neglia humorously added, “This is the newest fashion trend. I’m getting this going. Everybody in the world is going to be wearing these pretty soon.”
Some dude is playing “Proud to be an American” on harmonica in an Uncle Sam outfit with a bandage on his ear saying “fight fight fight” pic.twitter.com/f8xCn3cdgn
— Eric Michael Garcia (@EricMGarcia) July 16, 2024
The trend extended beyond delegates, with conservative radio hosts Steve Johnson and Kenny Webster posting a photo of themselves wearing bandages on X, formerly Twitter. They also advertised “official MAGA ear patch” merchandise, although their website did not list any ear patches for sale.
Additionally, Duane Schwingel, known for his Uncle Sam impersonations and street performances outside of Trump rallies, joined in on what he called "the newest fashion trend."
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