Donald Trump has rebuked Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth’s macabre attempt to livestream a public execution amid a global backlash against the proposed spectacle.
The president announced Thursday that former Army Major Nidal Hasan, who carried out the 2009 Fort Hood mass shooting that killed 13 people, would still face execution by firing squad as scheduled, but that the event would not be streamed for the world to watch.
“I think streaming the execution for all to see might have been a strong deterrent for the World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan but, many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die, through streaming, or through any other visual device,” Trump wrote in a lengthy social media post.
“He will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed. That said, the execution may be viewed in person by the immediate families of the victims, if they so choose. They deserve to witness JUSTICE! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
The reversal marks a humiliation for Hegseth, who described the attack as a radical Islamist assault from within the military’s ranks and insisted the public should watch the execution to understand that such crimes carry serious consequences.
But the plan immediately sparked a global backlash, condemnation from the Catholic Church, and bipartisan opposition on Capitol Hill.
Many feared that a public execution would make Hasan a martyr, while others compared the idea to public executions in authoritarian countries and propaganda videos produced by terrorist groups.
Vice President JD Vance also cast doubt on the plan last week, telling reporters that if it was livestreamed, “I’m not going to be watching it.”
Trump, however, initially refused to rule out the ghoulish public spectacle.
“There are two thoughts: don’t show it and show it,” he told reporters on Saturday.
“You know, by showing it, maybe other people won’t be doing what he did. So I’ll make a decision ultimately. I know what the military would like to do, but I’ll make a decision.”
Trump’s announcement came as a new Washington Post-ABC poll found 80 percent of Americans opposed live-streaming Hasan’s execution.
But 57 percent of MAGA Republican men, however, backed it. So too did some MAGA women, such as Trump ally Laura Loomer, who described the president’s decision as “sad news.”
“What a shame. Would have been a great way to differentiate between who is pro-America and who is pro-jihadist. I was going to have a watch party and BBQ,” she wrote on X.
Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, was sentenced to death for killing 13 people and wounding 32 others in a 2009 massacre at the military base.
But the Pentagon’s announcement about livestreaming the December 3 execution, confirmed by Hegseth in an interview with conservative outlet Real America’s Voice, caught many insiders by surprise.
“He’s going to get a firing squad of soldiers, as it should be,” the former Fox & Friends co-host told the outlet. “We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public.”
The planned execution would have been the first U.S. military execution since 1961, and the first public execution in the country since 1936.
In his post, Trump sought to blame the Obama administration for the attack, claiming the FBI had intercepted communications between Hasan and radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki but failed to recognize them as a threat.
But Hegseth’s apparent enthusiasm for the spectacle was apparently a bridge too far for the president, and even allies such as Australia and the UK, as well as some Republicans, opposed the idea.
“Hasan should face the death penalty, but making his execution public and streaming it? Beyond disgusting,” said North Carolina Republican Thom Tillis.
“Public executions are what oppressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do. It should not be happening in America.”
Trump’s one-time White House communications director, Alyssa Farah Griffin, also weighed in.
“I support the death penalty, especially for terrorists,” said The View co-host. “But I think it’s toxic for society to live-stream an execution. And bad for the human soul to tune in to watch.”
