The New York Times photojournalist who captured the split second when the bullet that struck Donald Trump in the right ear during a July 2024 speech in Pennsylvania has won the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography.
The prize was awarded to Doug Mills, who told Fox News he was standing just below then-candidate Trump, covering his speech, when the shot was fired.
The incredible image actually shows the bullet speeding past Trump’s head. Mills was using a Sony camera with a wide angle lens. During his recollection of the event, Mills acknowledged that he continued photographing everything as fast as his shutter could click.
According to Alphauniverse.com, Mills is also a Sony photographer whose career goes back to covering “every U.S. president since Ronald Reagan.”
The Pulitzer Prizes are annually awarded by Columbia University “for excellence in journalism,” according to the NY Times. Mills’ award was one of four Pulitzer’s earned by the newspaper this year.
The Mills photo is a rare image, capturing the bullet in flight. On the photo, the bullet appears as a thin streak, which underscores just how fast a projectile moves along its flight path.
Mills also captured the moment Trump got back to his feet and raised a defiant fist, telling his audience to “Fight. Fight. Fight,” as Secret Service agents surrounded him and took him down off the stage. The incident occurred in Butler, Pa., while Trump was campaigning for a return to the Oval Office.
In the aftermath, Trump did not call for more gun control, and now, nearly four months into his presidency, he has directed Attorney General Pam Bondi tom use Justice Department resources to protect the Second Amendment.
