WASHINGTON (TND) — Former White House photographer Pete Souza on Monday announced he deleted his X account after appearing to question former President Donald Trump’s claim he was struck by a bullet.
Trump began bleeding from his right ear after a would-be assassin opened fire at a rally in Butler, Pa. earlier this month. He later said the object that struck him was a bullet.
Taking to X, Souza posted a side profile of Trump, showing his ear without any apparent scars or lasting damage.
“AP photo this morning,” Souza wrote in a since-deleted post. “Look closely at his ear that was ‘hit’ by a bullet from a AR-15 assault rifle.”
Souza was the chief official White House photographer for both former president Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan.
After the post sparked outrage on X, the photographer said he attempted to quell the anger by citing his sources.
“I re-posted a screenshot of New York Times photographer Doug Mills’ Twitter post of the same situation of Trump boarding his plane, which included the date and time of his photo,” he wrote via Instagram. “Doug is one of Trump’s favorite photographers and Trump has publicly called him ‘my genius photographer.’ So I thought the maga world would at least believe Doug Mills.”
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The comments, Souza said, “turned ugly” and led him to delete his account.
So I de-activated my Twitter account,” he wrote. “It was a gut decision, made only by me. I am still not sure if this is a temporary or a permanent action.”
Souza said his profile was not deactivated by X owner Elon Musk, as some speculated. Instead, Souza explained “I kicked myself off.”
The FBI last week confirmed Trump was struck by a bullet “whether whole or fragmented into smaller pieces.”
Former White House doctor and current Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, insisted “there is absolutely no evidence” Trump was struck by anything other than a bullet. He has noted it is “wrong and inappropriate to suggest anything else.”
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