CBS News Capitol Hill correspondent Scott MacFarlane said he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and placed on trauma leave within 48 hours of the July 13, 2024 assassination attempt on President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. Speaking on Chuck Todd’s “Chuck ToddCast,” released Thursday, MacFarlane recounted that several rally attendees turned on members of the press after the gunfire, accusing journalists of responsibility and, he said, threatening to kill them. He credited Trump’s decision to stand and raise a fist—despite a grazing head wound—for dispersing the anger and averting further violence. MacFarlane’s description of receiving a rapid PTSD diagnosis drew swift pushback from commentators and mental-health professionals who pointed out that the disorder’s clinical criteria typically require symptoms to persist for at least one month. The episode has reignited debate over media safety at political events and the politicization of medical terminology in the wake of the failed attempt on Trump’s life, which also left one supporter dead.