Trump shows signs he may reverse course on public execution of Fort Hood terrorist

Fort Hood terrorist Nidal Hasan.

President Donald Trump appears to be wavering about the decision to livestream the firing-squad execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist who killed 13 and wounded 32 unarmed people during a jihadist mass shooting at Fort Hood in 2009.

The Pentagon revealed last week that the execution would be made public on December 3 via a livestream after announcing that Trump had approved Hasan's execution would be carried out by firing squad. The decision was immediately controversial with some Democrats and Republicans speaking out against the idea of showing Nadal put to death by firing squad. On Friday, Vice President JD Vance suggested the livestream might not happen, and said that if it did go forward, "I'm not going to be watching it."

Trump initially sounded firm in his decision, telling reporters on Friday, "Absolutely, I approve." But by Friday evening, the president sounded like he might be beginning to change his tune. "They want to do that because they want to set an example. I wasn't involved in that decision, but I understand the decision," Trump said in response to a question. "I guess they want to have it serve as an example, and I understand that very well."

Over the weekend, Trump seemed even less committed to seeing that the execution was made publicly available via livestream, telling reporters, "There are two thoughts: Don't show it and show it. 'Cause you know, by showing it, maybe other people won't be doing what he did. So I'll make a decision, ultimately. I know what the military would like to do, but we'll make a decision."

According to a report by Axios, sources close to the president say he's rethinking the livestream, with one unnamed source saying Trump has been besieged by "negative input" about the decision. "He didn't sound particularly enthusiastic" about the idea, Axios reported one source as having said. "That's why he's calling around, doing the Trump thing, asking people what they think."

Another source told Axios, "The president wants the bastard to pay, and a public execution might be that extra humiliation Hasan deserves. At the same time, he doesn't want to make the guy a martyr." Another said there were concerns over the optics of Hasan, who is 56 and confined to a wheelchair from being shot in the back during his shooting rampage, being taken out by firing squad in such a public manner.

Despite many loud voices opposing a livestreamed execution, there are some prominent voices who support such a measure. On Sunday, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin supported the plan to livestream the execution. “First of all, no one has to watch it,” Mullin pointed out during an interview on CBS, adding that showing Hasan, who screamed "Alluha Akbar" during the deadly attack, would be "restoring American values."

Tech titan Palmer Lucky is another who has expressed support for the livestreaming of Hasan being put to death. He invoked George Washington, who was a proponent of public execution. "My position is simple: Executions should be public and brutal, not private and medicalized," Lucky wrote in a lengthy post on X supporting the public execution of Hasan. "People who demean this as barbaric or yucky miss the whole point. It doesn't somehow become torture or inhumane (as the UN is suddenly claiming) just because we decline to hide the act behind a curtain," he added, finishing his post with a quote from Washington on the efficacy of public executions.