President Donald Trump said Oct. 10 that he will decide whether to livestream the military’s firing-squad execution of Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, stepping in after a Pentagon announcement drew objections from both parties.
“By showing it, maybe other people won’t be doing what he did, so I’ll make a decision ultimately,” Trump said outside the White House. “I know what the military would like to do, but we’ll make a decision.” He called Hasan “vicious” and “violent,” adding that there are “two thoughts: Show it and don’t show it.”
The Pentagon’s Announcement
On Oct. 8, two days earlier, Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth announced he would make a livestream of the execution public. Hasan was convicted in 2009 of killing 13 people and wounding more than 31 others at Fort Hood, Texas. That was 17 years ago.
The announcement didn’t land quietly. Democrats and Republicans alike objected, with critics comparing the plan to the behavior of dictators and terrorist organizations. When both sides of the aisle criticize a policy, it usually means the department behind it moved before laying the political groundwork.
The President Weighs In
Trump cast the decision as a choice between two competing instincts. “I have two thoughts: He’s a vicious killer, killed 13 people in cold blood, wounded over 20, some of those people will never have their lives back in a true sense,” he said Oct. 10.
The day before, Trump said Hasan “deserves it.” Whether he meant the execution itself or a livestream wasn’t clear.
Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic, said Oct. 9 that he wouldn’t watch the execution if it were livestreamed. He also said he didn’t “know that that’s actually going to happen.” On Oct. 10, Pope Leo XIV spoke out against the death penalty after the controversial announcement.
Regulators Step Back
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr kept his agency out of the matter. CNBC asked whether he would allow the livestream to be broadcast; Carr said he would “defer to” Hegseth. He added: “My understanding is it’s not on broadcast TV, so I don’t think there’s a role for the FCC there one way or the other.”
That answer stood out. A regulator with broad authority over the airwaves said plainly that the question falls outside his jurisdiction.
The firing-squad execution is scheduled for Dec. 3 at Fort Hood, where Hasan carried out the mass shooting. The source material gives no year for that date.
Why This Matters:
The dispute concerns less whether Hasan’s sentence should be carried out than how the government presents it. Broadcasting a state execution would be unprecedented enough to require clear authority, careful process and public buy-in. Instead, the Pentagon announced the plan, drew bipartisan criticism within days and left the president to settle it personally. Carr’s refusal to claim any FCC role also highlights how little formal structure governs a choice like this. For those who prize orderly, accountable government, the episode shows that major decisions carry more legitimacy when deliberation comes first. Trump’s final call remains pending, and Dec. 3 is approaching.