A mix of “universal revulsion” within the White House and incessant calls from panicked lawmakers forced the president to act.
JIM WATSON/Jim Watson, Getty Images
There was widespread disgust at the White House after Pete Hegseth blindsided senior officials by announcing he would livestream a military execution, according to a new report.
A frantic attempt to overturn the plan followed, with President Donald Trump immediately inundated with comments from friends and confidants who told him that Hegseth’s macabre desire was a “terrible idea,” a source close to Trump told The Atlantic.
An administration official told the magazine that there was “pretty universal revulsion” in the White House over the live broadcast of the execution of Nidal Hasan, the army psychiatrist-turned-terrorist who gunned down 13 people in a 2009 massacre at Fort Hood.
Those comments, along with negative television coverage, led the president, who publicly supported the plan immediately after Hegseth announced it in an interview with a right-wing commentator, to sour “pretty quickly” on the idea, a Trump adviser told The Atlantic.
Vice President JD Vance and Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson were among those who made no secret of their disapproval when asked about the plan to execute Hasan by firing squad before the eyes of the world.
Nidal Hasan massacred 13 people and injured 31 others in a November 2009 terrorist attack at Fort Hood.
Handout./Bell County Sheriff’s Office, Reuters
“If it ultimately airs live, I won’t watch it,” Vance told reporters last week.
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The Atlantic reports that several Republican lawmakers — in addition to those who have spoken out publicly against live streaming — have called Trump and his aides, urging him to give it up. They reportedly told the president that the plan could further harm Republicans in the midterms, which is already expected to be a bloodbath for the GOP.
Others noted that the appearance would be made even worse by the fact that Hasan, 56, is paralyzed from the waist down — an injury he suffered following a gunshot fired at him while fleeing authorities in 2009.
An official told The Atlantic: “One of the most immediate reactions was: Does Hegseth realize this guy is in a wheelchair?»
The administration also reportedly feared that footage of the public execution of a Muslim could be used to recruit videos for terrorist groups like ISIS.
In announcing there would be no livestream Friday, Trump said on Truth Social that there were positive aspects to a public execution, such as allowing the world to “see how America treats terrorists,” but that “many very good, well-meaning people would rather not see him die.”
Reached for comment, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly referred The Daily Beast to Trump’s statement and added: “The White House and the War Department are in full agreement to ensure justice is served for this heinous monster who killed 13 innocent people, including a pregnant soldier, and seriously injured 32 others.” »
The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson told The Atlantic that Hegseth and Trump spoke before Trump’s announcement Friday and that the men were “completely aligned.”
Hasan will be executed by firing squad at Fort Hood on December 3. The White House tells the Beast that his execution “can be viewed in person by the immediate families of the victims if they wish.”
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