MSNBC Pushes Script That Trump Was Not Hit By A Bullet

Despite pulling "Morning Joe" off the air on Monday, MSNBC is definitively not turning down the temperature after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. 

Network contributor and former Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele appeared on the network this week during its coverage of the RNC, during which he expressed doubt that a bullet actually struck Trump:

"It’s been three days — going on four — since this horrific event occurred. A person lost their life, two have been severely injured. And yet we’ve 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," Steele started.

"If he was shot by a high-caliber bullet, there should probably be very little ear there. And so we’d 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?"

Steele is apparently unaware of the photo by Doug Mills showing a bullet flying in the air to the right of Trump’s head, despite his own network often citing the photo. 

Take a look

Host Jen Psaki did not correct or push back at Steele. Nor did she when he later in the segment pushed the conspiracy theory that the bullet hit Trump's teleprompter; not his ear.

"Was it caused by a bullet as opposed to — as some reports from those on the scene, other reporters — saying that it was actually shards of glass from the teleprompter itself, not the bullet," Steele added. 

"So there are a lot of questions around that ear. And yet there’s been no response to that. Instead just showing the the image of the man coming into into the hall with the wounded ear."

Fact-checkers debunked the teleprompter theory on Sunday, a day after Trump was shot.

Per Snopes:

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, and by the fact that Trump later stated, on Truth Social, that a bullet had, in fact, pierced his ear: 

Trump's description of his wound matches photographs of his ear after he was hit, prior to being removed from stage. The two circles below, added by Snopes, highlight two areas that appear to show torn skin:

We are all for news networks asking questions and challenging prevailing narratives. However, Steele's arguments have already been proven wrong. He is further inciting hate by suggesting a potential hoax led to the death of a local firefighter named Corey Comperatore.

And MSNBC has shown no shame in putting Steele on-air to do so. 

So much for Jemele Hill's argument that MSNBC does not spread conspiracies…