Note to File

In the moments following the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, something bothered me about what I’d seen on TV. It was the way Trump reached up to his ear after being hit — it seemed like the way a person might swat away a mosquito rather than responding to being hit by a bullet.

I decided not to publish it at that time, because I didn’t want to seem disrespectful at what clearly had been a traumatic experience for him and the country at large.

Besides, it was only an impression.

Since then, Trump has told his version of what happened a number of times and the incident has entered the annals of political mythology, where it will probably live far into the future. In his telling, a bullet “pierced” his ear.

The problem for FBI investigators, historians and journalists is that we have to deal in facts, not useful fictions and in this case, the truth may be slightly more complex than the story-teller’s version.

According to the FBI director, there is doubt that Trump was actually hit by a bullet. More likely, he’s suggested, it was something smaller, perhaps shrapnel. And whatever hit him didn’t pierce his ear, it just grazed him. All of which might explain my first impressions of his reaction.

In the end, this is a minor distinction, of course. Trump was shot at, that’s what matters, and he avoided serious injury, which is a good thing.

And he lived to tell his own story, which is a very good thing for his campaign. But for me there’s a lesson here too: Pay attention to your first impressions!