‘Most Badass Moment In Modern American History’: Musk, Netizens Laud Trump’s ‘Fearless Fist’ After Attack

Netizens have lauded former US president Donald Trump’s fearless reaction, when a young shooter fired multiple shots at him at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, injuring his right ear, as the “most badass moment in American history”.

Leading in the praise was Elon Musk, Tesla CEO and X owner, who wrote on the social media platform: “Last time America had a candidate this tough was Theodore Roosevelt.”

Trump, 78, was speaking at the packed outdoor election rally in Butler town when bullets started flying. Video footage showed him grabbing his ear as shots were fired. The crowd started screaming behind him and then someone yelled “Get down, get down, get down, get down!” as Secret Service agents piled on top of Trump to shield him.

As blood gushed from his ear, Trump was rushed off the stage. He boldly pumped his fist into the air and told the crowd to “fight!” He was then whisked away in a car to a Pittsburgh-area hospital. “Let me get my shoes,” Trump said as he was escorted to the safe place.

While NFL memes called it “the most badass pictures in US history”, Logan Paul called it the “most gangster image of all time”.

Matt Wallace hailed the “most badass moment”, even as Amber Smith called it an “unreal/incredible reaction”.

The attack came days before he was to accept the Republican Party’s nomination for the presidential election in November.

The shooting created chaos with people in the back of the venue immediately running to the exits.

A net user Niks called it the photo of the decade. Caleb Hulks wrote on X: “This is history. Badass history.”

The shooting, which left one spectator dead and two others critically injured, is being investigated as an attempted assassination. The male attacker was also shot and killed by a member of the Secret Service.

A spokesperson for the Trump Campaign said the former president is “fine” after the “heinous act.” The gunman was identified by the FBI as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park. He was registered to vote as a Republican.

In a post on his Truth Social social media account, Trump elaborated on what happened and described his injuries: “It is incredible that such an act can take place in our Country. Nothing is known at this time about the shooter, who is now dead. I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear. I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place, so I realised then what was happening. GOD BLESS AMERICA!” Trump wrote.

In a news conference, Kevin Rojek, FBI special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh office, said it was “surprising” the gunman was able to fire multiple shots. “We’re still working through the security apparatus that the Secret Service had in place, what potentially happened…There’s going to be a long investigation into exactly what took place and how the individual was able to get access to the location, what type of weapon he had. All that is really days, weeks, and months of investigation.” Bomb-clearing assets were deployed at the scene of the shooting out of an “abundance of caution,” said the FBI. “It’s primarily standard procedure of any suspicious packages, In this case, there was identification of a suspicious package around where the shooter was and so we deployed, in an abundance of caution, bomb assets to make sure those were cleared for investigators to move safely in the area,” said Rojek.

With PTI Inputs