President Donald Trump said Saturday that he has not yet made a final decision on whether to broadcast live the execution of former Army Maj. Nidal Hasan, who in 2009 killed 13 people at Fort Hood in Texas.
“There are two ideas: don’t show it and show it. Because you know, by showing it, maybe other people won’t do what he did. So I will make a decision at the end of the day. I know what the military would like to do, but I will make a decision,” the president told reporters at the White House.
He also spoke about Hasan’s crime, saying: “He is a cruel killer – he killed 13 people in cold blood and injured more than 20. Some of these people will never get their lives back in the true sense of the word. »
Trump’s comments come a day after he told reporters he “absolutely” approved of the livestreaming plan announced earlier in the week, which drew skepticism and criticism from members of his own party.
Military officials said Monday that Hasan, sentenced to death in 2013, would be executed by firing squad in December. On Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the execution would be broadcast live, raising fears that Hasan would be seen as a martyr by others seeking to commit mass violence.
But Vice President JD Vance said Friday he wasn’t sure the federal government would livestream the execution, adding that if it did, he wouldn’t watch the event.
The same day, several Republican lawmakers expressed concerns about going public with the killing.
Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., wrote in an article on X: “I absolutely support the death penalty, but live executions are what jihadists do. America is better than that.”
Rep. Rob Bresnahan, R-Pa., said in a separate article on
Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Mich., wrote on X that “Secretary Hegseth should seriously reconsider this decision.”
Other Republican lawmakers have expressed support for the live-streaming plan. On Saturday, Rep. Matt Van Epps, R-Tenn., told NBC News that “parents shouldn’t let their kids watch this. Just like they should have good parental guidance for social media and other things. This administration is focused on accountability.”
Earlier today, on Truth Social, Trump republished an article from the Dallas Morning News in which Robert Jeffress, a prominent Trump ally and senior pastor of First Baptist Dallas, said he supported the plan for a public assassination.
Gn usa
