Ex-MSNBC Host Joy Reid Revives Questions About 'Alleged' Trump Assassination Attempt

Joy Reid, the former MSNBC host, said Tuesday that the public "knows nothing" about President Donald Trump's injuries after what she called the "alleged" assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally last year, criticizing media coverage of the president's health.

Reid made the remarks on former colleague Katie Phang's YouTube channel, where she questioned reporting on the incident and the availability of medical documentation. "He’s got these magical doctors who claimed that he was shot in the ear, but his ear, I guess, grew back," Reid said. "He had a Dukal bandage on one minute, no bandage the next. We can’t get a medical record from this alleged assassination. He was supposedly shot. We have nothing. We’ve got no—we can’t even ask."

Phang interjected during the exchange, asking, "Where are the investigative records? One day, he slapped a Maxi Pad on his ear. The next day, the ear is totally fine." Reid replied, "It’s fine! I remember being in mainstream media where we both used to work, saying, ‘Isn’t it odd that we’ve never asked for his medical records?’ And I got in trouble for that."

Reid framed her comments as part of broader criticism of how news organizations handle reporting about the president's health. During the interview she referred to what she described as a "first assassination attempt" during Trump’s time as a candidate and pressed for documentation she said has not been released to the public. Neither Reid nor Phang presented medical records during the appearance.

The exchange revisits questions that have circulated in some media and online circles about transparency around the health of public figures, particularly presidential candidates and officeholders. Calls for release of medical records and independent verification have surfaced periodically in political coverage, and those requests have sometimes drawn criticism when framed without corroborating evidence.

Reid is a former host of MSNBC's ReidOut. Phang is a lawyer and media personality who has appeared as a commentator on various networks. The comments add to ongoing debate over media scrutiny of political figures and the standards reporters use when seeking and publishing medical and investigatory information.

Reporting on and requests for medical documentation often involve privacy considerations and legal constraints. Journalists and news organizations typically weigh public interest against privacy and legal standards when deciding whether to seek or publish medical records or other sensitive personal information.