Trump Reportedly Having Second Thoughts About Livestreamed Execution

(Jacquelyn Martin/AP photo)

President Donald Trump is reportedly privately expressing doubts about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s controversial plan to livestream the firing squad execution of Fort Hood mass shooter Nidal Hasan.

According to a Monday report from Axios, four people who have spoken with Trump said the president has voiced reservations about allowing the public to watch the December 3 execution, despite initially throwing his support behind the idea.

One source outside the administration told the outlet’s Marc Caputo that the president even suggested the livestream “might not happen.”

“He didn’t sound particularly enthusiastic,” the source said. “That’s why he’s calling around, doing the Trump thing, asking people what they think.”

A senior administration official added that Trump has received a flood of “negative input” from lawmakers and advisers.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has since warned that broadcasting the execution could provide a “recruiting tool for future terrorists,” while Vice President JD Vance has confirmed he won’t be tuning in.

Hegseth first announced last Thursday that Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist who killed 13 people and wounded 32 others at Fort Hood in 2009, would be executed by firing squad, and that the Pentagon planned to broadcast the killing.

Trump initially embraced the proposal, telling reporters Friday, “Did I approve? Absolutely I did.”

“There are two thoughts: Don’t show it and show it,” Trump said on Saturday, though. “Cause you know, by showing it, maybe other people won’t be doing what he did. So I’ll make a decision, ultimately.”

“The president wants the bastard to pay, and a public execution might be that extra humiliation [Hasan] deserves,” one Trump confidant additionally told Axios. “At the same time, he doesn’t want to make the guy a martyr.”

“This is an old dude in a wheelchair we’re shooting. We want to livestream that?” another confidant questioned.

And one administration official predicted Trump would ultimately reject the livestream, telling the outlet, “If I had to bet, I would bet the president doesn’t authorize this.”

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