Despite the graphic photographic evidence from different angles showing former President Trump was missing chunks of his right ear after being shot in the head during a failed assassination attempt over the weekend, MSNBC host Michael Steele wasted oxygen during the network’s coverage of Night Two of the Republican National Convention on Tuesday to spew debunked fringe conspiracy theories claiming Trump wasn’t actually hit by a bullet.
“Where I am at this point, it's been three days, going on four…and yet, we have not received a medical report from the hospital nor have we received a medical report from the campaign or from the Trump organization about the extent of the damage to his ear,” he decried.
Steele, who’s not a ballistics expert nor was he pro-gun rights in any meaningful way, bloviated about how “If he was shot by a high-caliber bullet, there should probably be very little ear there. And so we would like to know that.”
The failed former Republican National Committee chairman seemed to be relying on flawed Hollywood movie logic to educate himself on how firearms and ballistics worked.
We don’t know what type of ammo was being used. If he was using something with a soft tip, it’s possible that the thinness and flexibility of an ear wouldn’t give enough resistance for a bullet to flatten or cause cavitation. If he was using a full metal jacket, the bullet would likely just pass right through as if it were nothing there, even if other parts of the body were hit. Both would still damage the area it passed through.
He went on to falsely speculate that Trump may not have even been hit by a bullet: “Was it caused by a bullet as opposed to some reports from those on the scene, other reporters, saying that it was actually shards of glass from the teleprompter itself, not the bullet?”
One of the liberal media’s favorite fact-checkers, Snopes even debunked the nonsense Steele was peddling. “The assertion that glass, not a bullet, caused the injury is undercut by the fact that photographs show no damage to the teleprompters allegedly hit to produce the broken glass, by a New York Times photograph capturing a bullet passing by Trump's ear,” they wrote. They cited Getty Images used by USA Today to show that both teleprompters were completely intact.
Co-host Ari Melber followed up by suggesting that the need to know the medical condition of Trump’s ear somehow matched the need to know President Biden’s cognitive state:
While there's a certain amount of time that could be understandable for any medical scenario, the calls around the current president's medical condition, the questions around his capacity, are also the same questions you have in a medical event like this. Certainly the public would want to know as much as possible about both incidents, and the Trump campaign has not been the most transparent.
A few minutes later, Steele lashed out at his former party and suggested that they didn’t want the race for the White House to be about ideas, but rather “a narrative around victimhood and martyrdom.”
“And that's what Republicans want it to be about, the age of the 81-year-old president, and the martyrdom of the man who wants to be a dictator. So, that's the context for me,” he chided.
The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
MSNBC’s The Reid Out
July 16, 2024
7:12:07 p.m. Eastern(…)
MICHAEL STEELE: Where I am at this point, it's been three days, going on four since this horrific event occurred, a person lost their live, two have been severely injured. And yet, we have not received a medical report from the hospital nor have we received a medical report from the campaign or from the Trump organization about the extent of the damage to his ear.
If he was shot by a high-caliber bullet, there should probably be very little ear there. And so we would like to know that. Is there cosmetic surgery involved? What is the prognosis for recovery? Were there stitches? What is the extent and nature of the damage to his ear? Was it caused by a bullet as opposed to some reports from those on the scene, other reporters, saying that it was actually shards of glass from the teleprompter itself, not the bullet.
So, there are a lot of questions around that ear! And yet, there's been no response to that. Instead, just showing the image of the man coming in to the hall with the wounded ear. So, that's the politics.
ARI MELBER: Let me jump in on that and then we'll continue. We're looking at that photo. Michael Steele is correct. While there's a certain amount of time that could be understandable for any medical scenario, the calls around the current president's medical condition, the questions around his capacity, are also the same questions you have in a medical event like this.
Certainly the public would want to know as much as possible about both incidents, and the Trump campaign has not been the most transparent. So, I think getting medical records and briefing on that at some point would be appropriate. That's what journalists often ask for.
(…)
7:15:03 p.m. Eastern
STEELE: Well, you know, the reality of it is I don't think Republicans want it to be about a contest between two sets of ideas in the terms of policy. One is a narrative around victimhood and martyrdom, the other is a narrative around the age of an 81-year-old man and his ability to serve. That's what both Democrats seemingly want it to be about because that's all they seem to be talking about, is the age of the 81-year-old president. And that's what Republicans want it to be about, the age of the 81-year-old president, and the martyrdom of the man who wants to be a dictator. So, that's the context for me.
(…)
