In the first detailed description of the wound former President Trump suffered from a would-be assassin’s bullet, his campaign put out a statement Saturday saying the round came “less than a quarter of an inch from entering his head.”

The description of Trump’s injury came from U.S. Rep. Ronny L. Jackson (R-Texas), who served as Trump’s White House physician.

“The bullet passed, coming less than a quarter of an inch from entering his head, and struck the top of his right ear,” Jackson, a vocal Trump supporter, wrote in the statement. “The bullet track produced a 2 cm wide wound that extended down to the cartilaginous surface of the ear. There was initially significant bleeding, followed by marked swelling of the entire upper ear.”

Jackson said the swelling has since resolved and that the wound was healing properly.

“Based on the highly vascular nature of the ear, there is still intermittent bleeding requiring a dressing to be in place,” he wrote. “Given the broad and blunt nature of the wound itself, no sutures were required.”

Trump was first treated by the staff at a Pennsylvania hospital. Jackson said he saw Trump the night of the shooting at Trump’s residence in Bedminster, N.J. “I have been with President Trump since that time, and I have evaluated and treated his wound daily. He is doing well,” Jackson wrote.

Trump, wearing a bandage over his ear, recounted the shooting for the first time publicly Thursday night, when he formally accepted the Republican Party’s nomination for president at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

In a show of solidarity, many convention attendees wore bandages over their right ears.

“You’ll never hear it from me a second time, because it’s too painful to tell,” Trump said before describing what happened at a campaign rally July 13 in Butler, Pa.

Trump said that as he turned his head to look at a chart projected on a screen, he heard “a loud whizzing sound and felt something hit me really, really hard on my right ear.”

“I said to myself, ‘Wow, what was that? It can only be a bullet.’ And moved my right hand to my ear, brought it down. My hand was covered with blood,” he said.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Former President Donald Trump declared Saturday that he “took a bullet for democracy” while firing up a crowd of voters in Grand Rapids, Michigan at his first rally since surviving an assassination attempt last week. 

More than 12,000 people piled into the Van Andel Arena, home to the Grand Rapids Griffins hockey team, to see the pair, who are coming off a packed week at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee, where each accepted their respective nominations to appear on the GOP ticket together.

“They keep saying he’s a threat to democracy. I’m saying, ‘’What the hell did I do to democracy?’ Last week I took a bullet for democracy,” Trump said as the crowd cheered, referencing an often used Democrat talking point. “What did I do against democracy? Crazy.”

WATCH: THOUSANDS DESCEND ON MICHIGAN TOWN FOR FIRST TRUMP RALLY SINCE FAILED ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

Vance spoke ahead of Trump, and dedicated part of his time on stage to slamming Vice President Kamala Harris, asking rallygoers “what the hell” she has ever done and noting his own service as a U.S. Marine.

“I’ve served in the United States Marine Corps … What the hell have you done?” Vance said.

“What has she done other than collect a check from her political offices?” he asked, before going on to talk about his grandmother, who he calls “Mamaw,” and his upbringing.

Harris ripped Vance after his Wednesday speech at the RNC in which he accepted his role on the 2024 ticket.

“It was compelling. It’s a compelling story. But it’s not the full story,” Harris said after Vance’s RNC speech. “Frankly, what is very telling is what he did not talk about on that stage. He did not talk about Project 2025, the 900-page blueprint for a second term. He did not talk about it because their plans are extreme, and they are divisive.”

RNC DELEGATES, GUESTS MAKE PREDICTIONS ABOUT BIDEN’S POLITICAL FUTURE AMID REPORTS HE MIGHT EXIT 2024 RACE

Former President and 2024 presidential nominee Donald Trump with Sen. and vice presidential nominee JD Vance, attend their first campaign rally together at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Saturday. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

Vance later spoke to rallygoers about the various challenges facing the nation under President Biden’s administration, including the fentanyl crisis, the border crisis and the economy.

Trump took the stage after Vance, beginning his speech by saying that he “shouldn’t be here right now, but something very, something very special happened.” He took a moment to recognize the supporters who were injured or killed at the rally last week.

“We continue to pray for the recovery of the two citizens who were wounded in that evil attack – David Dutch and James Copenhaver, two really incredible people,” the Republican frontrunner said. “We remain in contact and send our deepest respect to the families.”

ALINA HABBA TAKES ON MAJOR ROLE IN TRUMP CAMPAIGN, DISHES ON HIS HIGHLY ANTICIPATED RNC SPEECH

More than 12,000 people piled into Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan on July 20, 2024 to see former President Donald Trump and vice presidential nominee JD Vance at their first joint rally, and the first since Trump was struck by a would-be assassin’s bullet but survived. (Fox News Digital/Brandon Gillespie)

Trump also acknowledged the death of Corey Comparatore, calling him a “hero” for protecting his family from the bullets.

“Corey Comparatore was a brave firefighter who died, [his] funeral [was] yesterday,” Trump said. “Corey was a hero. And we will carry his memory in our hearts for all time.”

Later in his speech, Trump conducted a “poll” with the audience members about who should become the Democratic nominee if President Biden steps down from the race.

“We’re going to do a poll, and it’s going to be a very nice poll and great. Who is your favorite candidate? Who would you like?” Trump said.

GOV. WHITMER TELLS ‘THE VIEW’ SHE NEVER SAID MICHIGAN’S UNWINNABLE FOR BIDEN: ‘CRAZIEST THING TO THINK’

Former President and 2024 presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally with Sen. and vice presidential nominee JD Vance at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

“So who would you like to most run against, if you’re us, if we want to win? Ready? Kamala Harris? Crooked Joe Biden?” Trump asked. The audience booed louder in response to Biden.

The former president also slammed Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, calling her a “terrible” leader.

“Well, you have a terrible governor here who did a terrible job. Whitmer – I’d like to run against her, actually,” Trump laughed.

Michigan is expected to be one of the most closely watched battleground states in November, and could narrowly determine who will serve the American people in the White House for the next four years.

Polls have largely suggested Trump leads Biden in every battleground state, as well as in some states that have trended more Democratic in recent years. That comes as a growing number of Democrats call for Biden to step aside from the 2024 race, in favor of Harris or another candidate.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Cornell Belcher, a prominent pollster who worked for the Democratic National Committee and both Obama campaigns, wishes the party’s leaders would shut up about President Biden’s poll numbers.

“There’s too much talk about polling right now,” Belcher said. “As a pollster, it’s driving me out of my … mind that people are trying to drive whatever narrative they want by using polling.”

In recent days, Biden has faced mounting calls to drop out of the race from members of his own party. Many have pointed to worsening poll numbers for the 81-year-old incumbent since a disastrous debate performance last month. Some fear that questions about the president’s mental acuity will doom down-ballot candidates too.

But with Biden repeatedly insisting that he is not stepping aside, Belcher said, Democrats harping on his slipping support were hurting, not helping, their cause.

“Over the last three weeks, Democrats have done more damage to our ability to win in November than what Donald Trump and Republicans have been able to do,” Belcher said. “They have to stop [the] circular firing squad that they’re currently in, because it’s a death spiral.”

While calls from Congress members and major donors for Biden to step aside have dominated headlines in recent days, plenty of other Democratic loyalists have stood by the president and dismissed those calls as damaging and dangerous — posing challenging questions for the party.

How much longer should leaders push Biden to go? Will it be possible to refocus voters on the party’s accomplishments and core message — that former President Trump represents an existential threat to democracy? Is Vice President Kamala Harris a better candidate? Or anyone else?

Perhaps most important: What is the party’s plan for right now?

“That,” said one senior House Democratic aide, “is what we’re all trying to figure out.”

‘A test of how strong the party is’

During an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Friday, Jen O’Malley Dillon, Biden’s campaign chair, said Biden was “absolutely” running.

O’Malley Dillon said the campaign is “looking at polling” and acknowledged “some slippage in support” since the debate. But she said it was only “a small movement” in a “hardened” race where many Americans are already decided — meaning many were committed to Biden.

O’Malley Dillon said that internal data from door-knocking and other efforts in battleground states have shown that Biden is still a contender.

Many leading Democrats were making the opposite case.

“Simply put,” Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San José) wrote in a letter to Biden released Friday, “your candidacy is on a trajectory to lose the White House and potentially impact crucial House and Senate races down ballot.”

Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), center, speaks as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds its final meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington on Dec. 19, 2022. From left, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San José), Thompson and Vice Chair Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.).

(Jim Lo Scalzo / Associated Press)

Earlier in the week, a polling memo by the Democratic firm BlueLabs Analytics found that alternative candidates outperformed Biden in a theoretical matchup with Trump in battleground states. An Associated Press poll found nearly two-thirds of Democrats thought Biden should withdraw.

Michael Kazin, a Georgetown University history professor and author of “What It Took to Win: A History of the Democratic Party,” said the divide between Biden loyalists and dissenters presented a unique challenge.

“It’s a test of how strong the party is in many ways,” he said. “And not just how strong it is, but how united it is in believing that defeating Trump is really critical.”

Kazin said there is no doubt Democratic leaders can shift their support to a new candidate. They just need to decide if that’s what they are going to do — and before the party’s convention next month in Chicago.

A contested convention, Kazin said, would be “fraught with lots of perils” — stirring fresh divisions when the party can least afford them.

“They have to have a successful convention, one way or the other,” Kazin said. “Otherwise, they’re doomed.”

If it’s Biden

Whether Biden will drop out of the race is ultimately up to one person: Joe Biden. And if he stays the course, party officials would have no choice but to get on board, political analysts said.

Kerry L. Haynie, a political science professor at Duke University, said a Biden win in November will require all of the dissenters to swiftly offer “a full-throated endorsement of the campaign,” and then to “work in lockstep” to turn out the vote and reframe the race once more as a choice between “competent, honest Joe” and a dangerous Donald Trump.

Democrats will have to articulate well the idea that Biden “has lost a step” with age, but is “still capable, he’s still doing the job,” Haynie said.

President Biden speaks at the 115th NAACP National Convention in Las Vegas on Tuesday. Democrats at the highest levels are making a critical push for Biden to reconsider his election bid. Former President Obama has privately expressed concerns to Democrats about Biden’s candidacy.

(Susan Walsh / Associated Press)

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Democratic leaders also could emphasize that voting for Biden ensures a Democratic administration — one that will protect access to abortion, take a humane stance on immigration, appoint liberal judges and defend organized labor, LGBTQ+ people and other groups.

But Andra Gillespie, a political scientist at Emory University, said Democrats have to be careful with that message given today’s political atmosphere and distrust in bureaucrats.

“There are some people who hear that and they think ‘deep state,’” she said. “It is compelling to some, but it is repelling to others.”

Belcher, the pollster, said that if poor poll numbers this early in a race were an acceptable reason for ousting a candidate, “most of the greatest candidates in history” would never have been elected — including the Black one-term senator “with a Muslim-sounding name” he once worked for.

Democrats need to drive home the idea that Biden has made people’s lives better in regular ways, he said. They have to contrast Biden’s plan with Project 2025, the ultraconservative playbook devised for Trump’s second term by the Heritage Foundation and other conservative groups, he said, and “lean back into America’s fear and anxiety about the chaos and dangers of four more years of Donald Trump.”

Most of all, Belcher said, Democrats need to get behind Biden as surrogates and champion his campaign message in as many places as possible.

“The best arguments for Biden that I have heard in the last two weeks haven’t been from anyone on CNN or MSNBC,” Belcher said. “It’s been on TikTok and Instagram, from people doing it in their cars.”

If Biden steps aside

If Biden steps aside, the party could coalesce around another candidate, or hold a contested convention where candidates vie for delegates.

Several experts said early, unwavering support for Harris was clearly the best option.

Gillespie said if Harris were “somehow overlooked” without convincing evidence that her candidacy would fair dramatically worse than another candidate’s, the party would “risk alienating the most loyal Democratic constituency in Black women.”

Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to attend the opening of a pop-up ice cream shop owned by Tyra Banks, left, in Washington, on Friday.

(Nathan Howard / Associated Press)

Haynie said Harris would bring new energy and important strengths to the ticket as a younger woman of color who has already been leading the Biden campaign’s message on abortion rights, and as the daughter of immigrants, given Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric.

But she also would have to defend the Biden administration’s record even as party insiders try to pull her in new policy directions, including on U.S. support of Israel in its war with Hamas. She would have to rebuff legitimate criticisms about her clumsy 2020 presidential campaign and how she’s performed as vice president.

Harris also would face racist, sexist challenges that other candidates, especially white men, would not.

“She is going to face unique challenges as a woman of color in terms of the tenor of the attacks,” Gillespie said. “She is going to have to be able to anticipate those attacks, and have a ready response to them.”

Amy K. Dacey, executive director of the Sine Institute of Policy & Politics at American University, was formerly CEO of the Democratic National Committee, and before that of Emily’s List, a national group that works to elect Democratic women.

Dacey said that despite Harris’s hurdles, she is a known entity to voters who has been tested on the national stage — unlike some other names that have been floated for the ticket.

Dacey said the party process is playing out as intended, and Democrats still have time to land on a final ticket. But the sooner they can do that — and refocus the race on policies over people — the better.