People still talk about that night in Milwaukee. It was July 2024, just days after a bullet grazed Donald Trump's ear in Butler, Pennsylvania. When he took the stage at the Republican National Convention, the atmosphere was thick. It wasn't just another political rally. It was a 90-minute marathon of a speech. But for those watching the details, the question wasn't just about the rhetoric. It was about the evidence of the event itself. Specifically, where is the bloodstained shirt Trump was wearing during that period of time, or rather, the shirt from the actual shooting that preceded the speech?
Let's get one thing straight. Trump didn't wear the bloodied shirt during the RNC speech. He wore a crisp, white dress shirt with a suit, his ear covered by a now-iconic white rectangular bandage. But the fascination with the original garment—the one splattered with blood on that Saturday in Pennsylvania—has created a subculture of investigators, historians, and collectors asking about its current whereabouts.
It's a weirdly specific thing to fixate on, right? Not really. Not in American history.
The Chain of Custody and Federal Evidence
When a high-profile assassination attempt occurs, the clothing of the target isn't just laundry. It is forensic evidence. The moment Trump was whisked off that stage by Secret Service agents and taken to Butler Memorial Hospital, his attire became part of an active federal investigation.
The FBI's Evidence Response Teams (ERT) are incredibly thorough. Usually, in these scenarios, the clothing is bagged and tagged almost immediately. This isn't just for "history." Investigators look at blood spatter patterns. They look for microscopic traces of lead or copper from the projectile. They check for singe marks or "tattooing" if a shot was fired at close range—though in this case, we know it was a long-range shot from a rooftop.
So, where is it right now? Honestly, it’s almost certainly sitting in an FBI evidence locker.
Specifically, the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, is the most likely home for the shirt. They don't just throw this stuff in a cardboard box. It's kept in climate-controlled environments to prevent the degradation of DNA. Because the investigation into Thomas Matthew Crooks and any potential lapses in security is ongoing, that shirt is technically "active evidence." It won't be hitting a museum or a private collection anytime soon.
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Why the RNC Speech Shirt Gets Confused with the Shooting Shirt
There's a lot of digital noise out there. Some people mistakenly believe he wore the same shirt—or a shirt with the "stains of battle"—to the RNC to show off his resilience. That didn't happen. Trump is a man who understands branding. The RNC appearance was about looking "presidential" and "healed," even if the bandage was a stark reminder of what happened 72 hours prior.
The shirt he wore during the 90-minute speech at the RNC is likely just... in his closet. Or perhaps it was laundered and put back into his rotation. To him, that specific white shirt was just part of the uniform for a successful night. But the shooting shirt? That’s the one with the historical weight.
Presidential Artifacts and the National Archives
History tells us that these items eventually end up in one of two places: the Smithsonian or a Presidential Library.
Think about Abraham Lincoln. The coat he was wearing the night he was assassinated at Ford’s Theatre? It’s at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. It’s dark, wool, and still bears the marks of that night. Then you have the most famous "missing" garment in American history: Jackie Kennedy’s pink Chanel suit.
That suit is currently stored in a custom-made, acid-free container in the National Archives in College Park, Maryland. The catch? It can’t be displayed to the public until at least the year 2103. The Kennedy family wanted to avoid sensationalizing the tragedy.
Trump's bloodstained shirt follows a different trajectory because he survived.
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If and when the FBI releases the shirt back to the owner—which they eventually do once a case is fully closed and all appeals or congressional inquiries are finished—it belongs to Donald Trump personally. Given his penchant for memorializing his own history, it is highly probable that the shirt will eventually become a centerpiece of a future Donald J. Trump Presidential Library.
The Market for Political Relics
There is a darker side to this. The "murderabilia" or "assassination-adjacent" collector market is massive. A shirt worn by a president during an assassination attempt is essentially priceless.
Collectors like Raleigh DeGeer Amyx or those who frequent high-end auction houses like Heritage Auctions have seen similar items fetch six or seven figures. But because this is an item of such immense political and historical gravity, it’s unlikely to ever hit the private market. It’s a "National Treasure" level artifact.
Misconceptions About the Blood Spatter
Some skeptics on social media—mostly those peddling conspiracy theories about the severity of the ear wound—have claimed the shirt "disappeared" because there wasn't enough blood on it. This is factually incorrect.
Photos from the Butler rally clearly show blood streaking down Trump's face and onto the collar of his white shirt. Even a small nick on the ear, which is highly vascular, bleeds a surprising amount. The FBI has already confirmed that a bullet (or a fragment of one) struck Trump's ear. The shirt exists. The blood exists. The lack of public photos of the "bagged" shirt doesn't mean it’s gone; it just means the FBI doesn't post their evidence logs on Instagram for likes.
Basically, the shirt is tied up in the gears of the Department of Justice.
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The RNC Speech Length and the "Artifact" Status
Why do people specifically link the "90-minute speech" to the shirt? It’s likely because that speech was his first major public address following the event. It was a moment of peak cultural obsession. People were looking for signs of the "old" Trump or a "changed" Trump.
The shirt he wore that night in Milwaukee isn't a crime scene artifact, but it is a "speech artifact." In the world of political collecting, the suit and shirt worn during a major nomination acceptance speech are still worth a lot. Often, candidates donate these to museums or keep them for their own archives.
What Happens Next?
If you're looking for a photo of the bloodstained shirt, you're going to be waiting a while. Federal investigations of this magnitude—especially those involving the Secret Service and a former (and current) president—move at the speed of a glacier.
Eventually, we might see it in a glass case. For now, it’s in a temperature-controlled room, likely labeled with a long string of evidence numbers.
Actionable Insights for History Buffs and Researchers:
- Monitor the FOIA Logs: You can actually file Freedom of Information Act requests regarding the "disposition of personal property" related to the Butler investigation. While they may deny it for "ongoing investigation" reasons, the logs eventually reveal where items are held.
- Follow the FBI’s Final Report: When the FBI eventually releases its comprehensive final report on the Butler shooting (likely years from now), there will be a section on forensic evidence. This will definitively list the items analyzed, including the garment.
- Watch the National Archives: If Trump decides to donate his RNC wardrobe or the shooting artifacts to the National Archives early, it will be noted in their recent acquisitions.
- Distinguish Between the Events: When discussing this, always clarify if you are talking about the "Butler Shirt" (the evidence) or the "RNC Shirt" (the memorabilia). They are two very different pieces of history.
The shirt isn't "missing" in the sense that it's lost. It's just "sequestered." In a world of instant information, the slow grind of federal evidence processing feels like a disappearance, but in reality, it's just the law taking its time with a piece of cloth that changed the course of an election.