Is Trump OK? His health, injury remain a question after shooting

Four days after a shooter attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump, wounding him in the ear and shocking the nation, we still have heard nothing from the GOP presidential nominee’s medical team about the nature of the injury or his overall health.

This seems ridiculous, particularly given the president’s age – he’s 78 – and the media’s hyper-focus on the health of his opponent, President Joe Biden, who’s 81 and did not just survive an assassination attempt.

Beyond Trump’s injury, which he said on social media was caused by a bullet that “pierced the upper part of my right ear,” there should be questions about the former president’s mental state in the wake of such a traumatic event.

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PTSD in the wake of a shooting is a real concern. Is Trump addressing this?

Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump's bandaged right ear is seen as he leaves the convention floor at the end of the first day of the Republican National Convention. The RNC kicked off the first day of the convention with the roll call vote of the states.

One doesn’t get almost killed and not feel a psychological toll. In a 2022 story about the mental health toll of gun violence, The New York Times reported that the psychological impact for shooting survivors “may include post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, self-harm and major depressive disorders.”

From that story: “Those with PTSD often have trouble sleeping and may become emotionally numb, continuously on edge or easily startled. … The world will often feel unsafe to them, and upsetting memories may intrude on their daily thoughts. Some people may try to avoid things that remind them of their trauma.”

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Trump is not a trusted source for medical information or anything else

A Trump adviser told NBC News this week that statements about Trump’s health would come from Trump himself. That’s a problem for a couple of reasons.

First, Trump is a well-documented liar about virtually everything, from his election loss (which he claims he won) to the size of the crowds that come to see him speak. For voters to have to rely simply on Trump’s word about his medical condition is absurd.

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Second, as the victim, Trump may well not yet know the mental impact this horrific shooting had on him.

It’s difficult to be self-reflective in the wake of something life-altering like that, and because of the timing of this week’s Republican National Convention, Trump chose to put on a tough face to move forward with his campaign. He’s showing up at the convention in Milwaukee with a huge bandage on his ear, yet nobody knows his exact medical condition.

Voters deserve to know Trump’s medical condition and mental state

The public deserves to know exactly what happened to the Republican presidential nominee and what steps are being taken to help him process something that any of us would struggle with profoundly.

These are questions that should be answered by the doctors who have cared for Trump:

What, specifically, was his injury, and how was it treated?
What is his current medical condition in the wake of the injury, and has he been prescribed medication? If so, what kind?
Will additional medical procedures be required?
Has the former president had a psychological evaluation in the wake of the shooting?
How is his medical team planning to address the possibility of PTSD or other psychological after-effects?
Is he planning ongoing mental health counseling?

As a nation, we know how to address trauma from shootings

Trump’s brand is to project an aura of toughness, a dated, John-Wayne-esque effect that, for critics like me, is wildly off-putting. But any suggestion that a person can just walk off an assassination attempt that left them wounded is absurd.

This isn’t the 1950s. We’re wiser and, tragically, we have a lot more knowledge and experience in dealing with victims of gun violence. And getting help is only a sign of weakness to those with weak minds.

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