Doug Mills, a veteran photographer for The New York Times, has received one of journalism’s highest honors—the Pulitzer Prize—for his extraordinary photojournalism during the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump. The recognition comes in large part due to a single, now-iconic image that froze the precise moment a bullet streaked past Trump’s head at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.

 

 

The image captured the surreal and terrifying split second during which a bullet passed perilously close to the president as he spoke to a crowd. Mills was stationed below the stage with a wide-angle lens when the shots rang out, unaware in that moment that he had just documented a piece of history in motion.

 

“I just happened to be down, shooting with a wide-angle lens just below the president when he was speaking. There was a huge flag waving right above his head, and I just happened to be taking pictures at the same time,” Mills recalled during an interview with Fox News at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. “Then, when I heard the pops, I guess I kept hitting on the shutter, and then I saw him reach for his [ear]. 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.'"

 

Following the chaos, Mills was quickly taken to a tent for safety and began transmitting his photos to The Times newsroom. At first, the most striking image seemed to be one of Trump pumping his fist defiantly in the air while being escorted offstage by Secret Service agents. But as Mills reviewed his camera roll, he realized he might have captured something even more extraordinary.

 

"I was like, ‘Oh, hell. I remember taking pictures of him when this happened. Let me go back and look,’” he said. “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.’”

 

The revelation came moments later. “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.’”

 

The image—frozen in time by a Sony a1 camera—quickly circulated worldwide, becoming a defining visual of the shocking attempt on the president’s life and a testament to the power of photojournalism to capture history as it unfolds.

 

Doug Mills’ Pulitzer was part of a strong showing for The New York Times, which earned three additional awards for coverage of Sudan, Afghanistan, and Baltimore. As media reporter Katie Robertson noted, “Doug Mills of The New York Times won the breaking news photography prize for his photos capturing the attempted assassination of President Trump last year, including an image in which a bullet can be seen.”

 

Through a lens, Mills recorded not just an attack, but a moment that symbolized resilience and danger in modern American politics. His work now stands among the most memorable in Pulitzer history.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from USA Today  2025-05-10

 

 

 

 

9 hours ago, Social Media said:

bullet passed perilously close to the president

That contradicts the news that it hit his ear. As they say, close but no cigar.

Incredible.

 

Trump is truly blessed. 

 

Given his work, it's no surprise the Lord is looking over him.

It’s odd how we don’t heard demands for a full and transparent inquiry into this incident.

 

At the very least it’s a colossal failure of security that deserves explanation.

12 minutes ago, BLMFem said:

Anyone else think the silence after the initial uproar is "a bit" suspicious

J6 pipe bombs thats where the silence is.

 

Excellent breakdown of events.

 

7 minutes ago, Smokey and the Bandit said:

The attempted assassination of Donald Trump on July 13, 2024, was thoroughly investigated by multiple agencies, including the FBI, Secret Service, and local law enforcement. All official reports and evidence confirm it was a genuine attack carried out by Thomas Matthew Crooks, who fired eight rounds from an AR-15-style rifle before being neutralized. The incident resulted in one death (Corey Comperatore), two critical injuries, and a minor injury to Trump’s ear. Ballistic, forensic, and witness evidence, including recovered bullets and Crooks' planning materials, support the conclusion of a real assassination attempt.

Claims of it being staged primarily stem from social media speculation, often citing the improbability of Trump’s minor injury or perceived inconsistencies in event footage. However, no credible evidence—such as doctored ballistics, staged injuries, or coordinated deception—has emerged to substantiate these claims. Investigations found Crooks acted alone, with no accomplices or broader conspiracy identified.

 

Nice work.....ChatGPT?

7 minutes ago, Smokey and the Bandit said:

The attempted assassination of Donald Trump on July 13, 2024, was thoroughly investigated by multiple agencies, including the FBI, Secret Service, and local law enforcement. All official reports and evidence confirm it was a genuine attack carried out by Thomas Matthew Crooks, who fired eight rounds from an AR-15-style rifle before being neutralized. The incident resulted in one death (Corey Comperatore), two critical injuries, and a minor injury to Trump’s ear. Ballistic, forensic, and witness evidence, including recovered bullets and Crooks' planning materials, support the conclusion of a real assassination attempt.

Claims of it being staged primarily stem from social media speculation, often citing the improbability of Trump’s minor injury or perceived inconsistencies in event footage. However, no credible evidence—such as doctored ballistics, staged injuries, or coordinated deception—has emerged to substantiate these claims. Investigations found Crooks acted alone, with no accomplices or broader conspiracy identified.

A man brings a rifle up on a roof very close to where Trump is gonna speak. He is even seen by security personnel as well as civilians well before allegedly shooting.

Yeah, sure, case closed!😂

 

PS, If you're gonna quote AI it's downright dishonest not to make that clear.

 

1 hour ago, Purdey said:

That contradicts the news that it hit his ear. As they say, close but no cigar.

Didn't it graze his RIGHT ear?

9 minutes ago, BLMFem said:

So are you saying the alleged shooter didn't act alone?

Alleged ?  Nothing alleged 

probably not acting alone refere to previous post Biden, Kamala

22 minutes ago, johng said:

Alleged ?  Nothing alleged 

probably not acting alone refere to previous post Biden, Kamala

Very much alleged, as in total BS.

Don't know what Biden or Harris has to do with this, other than as an obvious deflection.

What no photoshop?

28 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

Didn't it graze his RIGHT ear?

Yes, he's not a catcher.

2 hours ago, JonnyF said:

Given his work, it's no surprise the Lord is looking over him.

Sure it's not the Devil looking out for him!

Posts using derogatory and toxic nicknames or intentional misspelling of people’s names will be removed. If you don’t want your post to be removed, spell people’s names correctly.

 

Off topic conspiracy posts and replies about Alex Jones and the Sandy Hook massacre have been removed.

 

An inflammatory post regarding negative emoji and the replies have been removed.

2 minutes ago, BLMFem said:

 

The truth WILL com out, but unfortunately too late. The damage has already been done.

Well perhaps the “deep state“ actually organised the assassination attempt to assure Trump victory so he could make Israel great again ?

Anyway things have “changed “ while I was writing this reply, perhaps I'll not reply anymore sorry.

2 hours ago, BLMFem said:

Anyone else think the silence after the initial uproar is "a bit" suspicious. This whole thing stinks to high heaven.

 

Absolutely.  The fact that the left-wing press played it down so much is disgusting, as you rightly point out.

2 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

It’s odd how we don’t heard demands for a full and transparent inquiry into this incident.

 

At the very least it’s a colossal failure of security that deserves explanation.

 

Yeah.  Just like it's "odd" that people seem to care more about Jan 6 than the BLM months long riots...  🙄

2 hours ago, Purdey said:

11 hours ago, Social Media said:

bullet passed perilously close to the president

 

2 hours ago, Purdey said:

That contradicts the news that it hit his ear. As they say, close but no cigar.

The article does not imply that this was the round that hit Trump's ear. Cooks fired 8 rounds, I'm sure a few of them passed 'perilously close'.

Why did the photographer have his camera set in such a way as to enable him to capture a picture of a bullet? Was he expecting something?

2 hours ago, JonnyF said:

Given his work, it's no surprise the Lord is looking over him.

For it is written in the book of Two Corinthians, I'm sure you'd agree.

2 hours ago, BLMFem said:

Anyone else think the silence after the initial uproar is "a bit" suspicious. This whole thing stinks to high heaven. Some day (hopefully soon) this conspiracy will blow up and we'll know the truth; that this was a staged event arranged to get Trump over the line.

Disgusting treachery.

One person died and two others were seriously injured. Nothing was staged. Those were real bullets. Have some respect.

The FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT fist pump photo was the real Pulitzer prize winner. A real modern hero displaying real bravery & strength.

27 minutes ago, BangkokReady said:

 

Yeah.  Just like it's "odd" that people seem to care more about Jan 6 than the BLM months long riots...  🙄

Yes, it's funny how an attempted coup could garner so much attention. One of life's mysteries, I guess.

6 minutes ago, BLMFem said:

an attempted coup

 

You mean when a crowd of people casually strolled into an office building and took some selfies?  Doesn't sound much like a coup to me.

The whole thing was a PR stunt, says my inner voice

 

 

......and was unfortunately successful!

4 minutes ago, BangkokReady said:

 

You mean when a crowd of people casually strolled into an office building and took some selfies?  Doesn't sound much like a coup to me.

Do you know why and when you fell down the rabbit hole?

 

 

So he won because of sheer lucky timing and nothing to with skill then, unless he has spidey hearing senses and superman finger reflexes.  

17 minutes ago, BLMFem said:

Yep, almost like it was staged, right?

Again two people died. Did they stage that? As I say you're not right in the head mate. Beers for breakfast is it?

Conspiracy theory nonsense promoting that the assassination attempt on Trump was staged has been removed @BLMFem