President Donald Trump said Saturday that he has not yet made a final decision on whether to livestream the execution of former Army Major Nidal Hassan, who killed 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009.
“There are two schools of thought: not showing and showing. Because you know, by showing, maybe other people won’t do what he did. So ultimately I will make the decision. I know what the military wants to do, but I will make the decision,” the president told reporters at the White House.
He also spoke of Hassan’s crimes, saying “he was a vicious killer – killing 13 people in cold blood and injuring more than 20. Some of them will never truly return to their normal lives.”
Trump’s comments came a day after he told reporters that he “absolutely” approved the live-streaming plan announced earlier this week that drew skepticism and criticism from members of his own party.
Military officials said on Monday that Hassan, who was sentenced to death in 2013, will be executed by firing squad in December. On Thursday, Defense Secretary Peter Hegseth said the execution would be live-streamed, raising concerns that Hassan could be viewed as a martyr by others seeking to commit mass violence.
But Vice President J.D. Vance said Friday he was unsure whether the federal government would livestream the execution, adding that if it did, he would not watch the event.
The same day, several Republican lawmakers expressed concern about the idea of publicly broadcasting the killing.
Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., wrote in a post on X, “I absolutely support the death penalty, but live streaming executions is what jihadists do. America is better than this.”
Rep. Rob Bresnahan, R-Pa., said in another post on
“Secretary of State Hegseth should seriously reconsider this decision,” Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Mich., wrote on X.
Other Republican lawmakers also expressed support for the live broadcast plan. “Parents shouldn’t be letting their kids watch this. Just like they deserve good parental guidance on social media and other things. The focus of this administration is accountability,” Rep. Matt Van Epps, R-Tenn., told NBC News on Saturday.
Earlier in the day, Trump retweeted a Dallas Morning News article on The Truth Society, in which prominent Trump ally Robert Jeffries, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas, said he supported plans for a public massacre.