During a recent conversation with Jake Paul, President Donald Trump recalled the time Thomas Matthew Crooks tried to kill him. The assassination attempt was made on July 13, 2024, while Trump was attending a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Crooks, a registered Republican, reportedly acted alone and tried to shoot Trump with an AR-style rifle from a nearby rooftop, and was later killed by the Secret Service.
The president recently appeared for a 27-minute interview with Jake Paul on the YouTuber’s official channel. Titled “The Controversial Donald Trump Interview,” it discussed Jake Paul’s fight with Anthony Joshua and Trump watching it on Air Force One, Jake’s broken jaw from the fight, the Middle East and Iran, MAGA ideology, border control, and many other topics.
At one point, Jake brought up the time Trump had a close shave after being shot at.
.@jakepaul asks @POTUS about the attempt on his life in Butler, PA:
“You had that throbbing feeling. You knew there was something. It was a bloody mess… I said that’s either the biggest mosquito bite in history or I just got shot.” pic.twitter.com/Lls0JGK0Ke
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 13, 2026
The two discussed the aftermath of the shooting. The discussion erupted when Trump noticed Jake had a magazine that displayed the viral image of him raising his fist following the assassination attempt on its cover. Jake described it as “the coolest thing ever.”
Commenting on the shooting, Jake asked how he felt when the bullet whizzed by his ear. He asked, “Was it hot on your ear? Could you feel the bullet?” Donald Trump recalled that his ears started to throb, and he knew something had grazed his ear because there was blood everywhere. He touched his ear to see what was wrong and even joked that he thought it was a big mosquito bite.
He then explained that ears tend to bleed more because of the cartilage.
”It had that throbbing feeling. You knew there was something. It was a (…) mess.”
My Interview with President Donald Trump
We cover the Iran war, immigration policies, the assassination attempt, life advice, some funny topics, and more. pic.twitter.com/LQvKb6CVa6
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) March 13, 2026
He continued, “The ear bleeds more. I said, ‘Why is there so much blood?’ And the ear is a big bleeder, having to do with cartilage. I don’t want to go into it too much. (…) I said ‘that’s either the biggest mosquito bite in history or I just got shot.”
Trump wrapped up the discussion by saying,
“It was not a pleasant experience.”
Trump announced that Jake Paul had his “complete and total endorsement,” even though he was not running for any office at the time. Jake revealed that he looks up to Donald Trump for laying the cornerstone of the American dream and wishes to inspire other kids someday. The President also said that there will be a Jake Paul political campaign in the near future because he believes Paul will run “in the not-too-distant future.”
