According to Comperatore's fire company, the jacket was intentionally misspelled long before the RNC as there was not enough space on the uniform for all the letters.
On July 18, 2024, at the Republican National Convention, former U.S. President Donald Trump honored Corey Comperatore, a firefighter who was killed in the assassination attempt on Trump during a campaign rally days earlier. Also on the RNC stage alongside Trump was a firefighter jacket with Comperatore's name on it and a helmet, which Trump kissed before asking for a moment of silence.
Photographs of the moment Trump stood next to the jacket went viral, with many people online stating Comperatore's name had been misspelled. The jacket appeared to be missing an "A," so his name appeared as "Compertore."
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Based on photographic and video evidence from that night, we found the jacket was indeed misspelled.
However, the misspelling was not due to an error on Trump's or the RNC's part. Trump said this was Comperatore's original firefighter jacket, brought from the Buffalo Township Fire Company where he served as fire chief. According to the fire company it had been intentionally misspelled long before as there was not enough space on the jacket for all the letters in Comperatore's name.
We thus rate this claim as "True" but with necessary context.
Photographs on Getty Images and YouTube footage of Trump's RNC speech confirmed the misspelling on the jacket.
The Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Department, where Comperatore worked as a firefighter, posted a picture of his uniform on its Facebook page. The jacket carried the same misspelling.
We reached out to the department to learn more about whether the spelling was intentional, and whether it was indeed Comperatore's original uniform on the stage.
The fire department confirmed to CBS News that the misspelling was intentional because there was not enough space on the coat for all the letters in his name. Trump said in his speech that Comperatore's fire department sent his helmet and outfit to the RNC.
Comperatore was fatally shot when a gunman attempted to assassinate Trump at a campaign rally a few days before the RNC. Trump's ear was struck by a bullet, and two other men were wounded in the shooting.
When paying tribute to Comperatore, Trump said, "He was incredible, he was a highly respected former fire chief. … He lost his life selflessly acting as a human shield to protect [his family] from flying bullets. He went right over the top of them and was hit. What a fine man he was."