Trump confirms he approved livestream of Fort Hood shooter’s execution

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump on Friday, October 9, said that he had approved the planned livestream of the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, the former US Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009.

When asked by reporters outside the White House whether he had personally authorized the broadcast, Trump replied, “Did I approve? Absolutely.” The Pentagon has said that Hasan’s execution by firing squad is scheduled for December 3, with the livestream marking an unprecedented public broadcast of a US military execution.

Trump confirms approval as Pentagon faces backlash over livestream plan

Trump was asked multiple times on Friday about his involvement in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s announcement that Hasan’s execution would be streamed publicly. During an earlier exchange, Trump said he would determine the broadcast, while confirming that Hasan would be executed by firing squad.

“I’m going to make a determination about that, but he will be killed. He will be through firing squad. ... I really don’t care how he goes as long as he goes. And I think that the death penalty is a very worthy way of going for him,” Trump said.

The president later answered affirmatively when asked whether he had personally authorized the livestream. However, he did not directly respond to a question about whether he intended to watch it.

The Pentagon on Thursday, October 8, announced that the execution would be live-streamed, a decision that would make it the first US military execution broadcast live on the internet. Hegseth has defended the plan, saying Americans should understand that such crimes carry “serious consequences.”

The announcement has prompted criticism from both parties and religious organizations. Republican Senator Thom Tillis said that Hasan should face the death penalty but condemned the decision to broadcast his execution. “Public executions are what oppressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do,” Tillis wrote on X. “It should not be happening in America.”

Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski and John Curtis, along with Rep Austin Scott of, have also opposed the plan and urged Hegseth to reconsider. 

JD Vance says he will not watch as questions emerge over broadcast

However, Trump’s Vice President JD Vance on Friday, October 8, said that he would not watch the planned livestream and expressed uncertainty over whether it would happen. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force Two, Vance acknowledged the severity of Hasan’s crimes while distancing himself from the proposed broadcast.

“Whatever the controversy is about the method of the execution, I hope that people don’t forget that this is a guy who brutally murdered a lot of innocent people,” Vance said. “Now that said, if it’s ultimately live-streamed, I’m not going to be watching it.”

Vance, a Catholic who has previously expressed support for the death penalty, made the remarks as criticism of the livestream extended beyond Congress.

The United Nations, Amnesty International and the US Conference of Catholic Bishops have condemned the plan. The bishops described the broadcast as “a barbaric promotion of a culture of death.”