Hasan Execution Livestream Scrapped After Bipartisan Backlash

The Hasan execution livestream is off. President Donald Trump said Thursday that the Pentagon will no longer broadcast the firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan, ending a week of bipartisan backlash over a plan that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unveiled only days earlier, according to the Associated Press.

What Trump Actually Said

Trump posted that publicly airing the execution "might have been a strong deterrent for the World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan." Then he backed away. "Many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die, through streaming, or through any other visual device," he wrote, as quoted by the Los Angeles Times.

The execution itself is still on. It remains scheduled for December third at Fort Hood, and Trump said the immediate families of the victims may watch in person "if they so choose." The Pentagon declined to add anything beyond the president's statement.

How the Plan Fell Apart

Hegseth first told Real America's Voice that the execution would be public, and the Pentagon later confirmed it would be livestreamed. The reaction was fast and it crossed party lines. Lawmakers on both sides compared the idea to public executions in authoritarian countries, and critics warned the footage could be used to radicalize people.

Vice President JD Vance added fuel when he told reporters he would not watch a livestream, and even doubted it would happen. "I don't know that that's actually going to happen," he said. House Speaker Mike Johnson voiced similar concerns, and Archbishop Paul Coakley, who leads the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, called the move a "barbaric promotion of a culture of death."

Behind the scenes, things were messier. CNN reported on Tuesday that Trump had not known Hegseth was going to announce the livestream, and that he polled advisers about how to proceed. Sources told the network that Trump learned Hasan is paralyzed from the waist down and uses a wheelchair, which made the idea of showing it publicly less appealing to him.

What the Public Thought About the Hasan Execution Livestream

Americans were not on board either. An ABC News, Washington Post and Ipsos poll conducted in the days before the reversal found that eight in ten adults said the Hasan execution livestream should not happen, according to ABC News. The opposition cut across the political map, including majorities of Democrats, independents and Republicans.

Here is the twist. A slim majority of respondents did support the firing squad itself. The same poll found that even most people who back the method did not want it streamed. In other words, the country was split on how Hasan should die but nearly united on whether to watch.

The poll also showed cracks inside Trump's own coalition. A majority of self-described MAGA Republicans said no to a livestream, and the share was even larger among Republicans outside that camp. That is a rare thing in a polarized year, and it likely helped decide the outcome.

Who Is Hasan and Why This Case Matters

Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, opened fire inside a medical building at Fort Hood in November two thousand nine, where soldiers were lining up for immunizations and deployment clearance. Thirteen people were killed and thirty-two were wounded. He was sentenced to death by a military jury in two thousand thirteen.

A military execution is almost unheard of. The Los Angeles Times notes the American military has not executed a service member by firing squad since World War II, and the last military execution of any kind happened in nineteen sixty-one. That history is part of why the livestream felt so jarring to so many people.

The numbers underline how out of step the original plan was. Pollsters surveyed more than twenty-five hundred adults, and across nearly every demographic group the answer on the Hasan execution livestream was the same: please do not. Trump leaned on that mood when he said many "well meaning people" would rather look away.

What Happens Next

For now, the focus shifts to the date, and the Hasan execution livestream debate is closed unless the White House changes course again. Hasan could try to delay the execution, though given his behavior at trial he may not want to, per the Associated Press. Questions also remain about how many witnesses will be allowed and what the Pentagon will release afterward.

The episode is also a small window into how decisions get made in this administration. A big announcement went out, the pushback came from the left, the right and the church, and the president stepped in to reverse it. For anyone following the Pentagon under Hegseth, it reads as a rare public rebuke. You can keep up with more of our politics coverage as the December date gets closer, or check our world desk for the wider news cycle.