New York Times photographer Doug Mills shares his firsthand account of the shocking moment he captured a bullet grazing former President Trump's ear at a Pennsylvania rally. Despite initial confusion, Mills' quick thinking and photographic skills led to an iconic image that has become a focal point of the Republican National Convention.
Doug Mills, the New York Times photographer who captured the iconic image of a bullet whizzing past former President Trump at a Pennsylvania rally, has shared his firsthand account of the shocking ordeal.
Photographer Captures Iconic Image of Bullet Whizzing Past Trump at Rally
As Trump addressed the crowd, Mills was positioned below the stage, capturing the moment with a wide-angle lens. The moment the shots rang out, Mills instinctively pressed the shutter, unaware of the true nature of the sounds.
"I saw him reach for his [ear]," Mills recalled. "He grimaced and grabbed his hand and looked. It was blood, and then he went down, and I thought, 'Dear God, he's been shot.'"
Photographer Captures Iconic Image of Bullet Whizzing Past Trump at Rally
In the chaotic moments that followed, Mills watched as Secret Service agents swarmed Trump, obscuring his view. Despite the confusion, Mills made a split-second decision to approach the scene.
"All I could see was them, and [they're] holding their guns and guns are out everywhere and everybody's yelling, ‘Get down, get down, get down! Active shooter, active shooter!’" he recalled.
Photographer Captures Iconic Image of Bullet Whizzing Past Trump at Rally
Mills eventually made his way into a tent, where he began sending photos of Trump's defiant fist pump to an editor. It was then that he realized he had captured something extraordinary.
"I was like, ‘Oh, hell. I remember taking pictures of him when this happened. Let me go back and look.’ I started looking at it. I started sending them right away, and I called one of the editors and said, ‘Please look at these really closely. This might have been near the moment where he was shot,’" he said.
Photographer Captures Iconic Image of Bullet Whizzing Past Trump at Rally
To Mills' astonishment, his editor called back with the confirmation that one of the photos captured a bullet flying behind Trump's head.
"She called me back like five minutes later and said, 'You won't believe this.' She goes, ‘We actually see a bullet flying behind his head, and I was like, ’Oh my gosh.'"
Mills said he believes Trump's quick reaction and the split-second turn he made after hearing the gunfire may have saved his life.
"The bullet actually looks like it went past his ear and it looks like it was within inches of him … If he hadn't turned at that moment, it looks like it would have been a very different situation for him," Mills observed.
The image of Trump, defiant even in the face of danger, has become a powerful visual representation of the moment and has been widely circulated on social media and news outlets.
"I've covered a lot of presidents and a lot of big events, but nothing like this where there was somebody trying to assassinate a former president," Mills said. "It was a pretty wild day."
Mills credited his experience as a photojournalist with helping him navigate the chaos and capture the iconic image.
"It's a split-second decision that you have to make when you're trying to get that picture, and it just happened to be the right decision at the right time," he said.
