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Report: Trump Is Having Second Thoughts About Livestreaming Military Execution

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13.10.2026

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President Donald Trump is reportedly asking advisors if he should go through with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s plan to livestream a military execution later this year.

Trump has publicly indicated that he’ll make a final decision on the matter soon.

“There are two thoughts: don’t show it and show it,” Trump said. “Because, you know, by showing it, maybe other people won’t be doing what he did.”

“I’ll make a decision ultimately. I know what the military would like to do, but I’ll make a decision,” Trump added.

But according to reporting from Axios, Trump is questioning whether the execution of former Army Maj. Nidal Hasan should be televised, asking his advisers for their views on the matter.

What Happened During Christa Pike’s Scheduled Execution Isn’t an Anomaly

Hasan was convicted of killing 13 soldiers at Fort Hood in Texas in 2009. He was shot during the rampage, and is now a paraplegic, paralyzed from the waist down. Hasan is set to be executed by a firing squad in December.

The president “didn’t sound particularly enthusiastic” about a live, national showing of the execution, a source close to Trump said to the publication, adding that “he’s calling around, doing the Trump thing, asking people what they think.”

The livestream event “might not happen,” another source confirmed.

Trump’s public statements about the death penalty reveal that he has errant views about capital punishment. Multiple studies have shown that there is no evidence supporting the idea that the death penalty can act as a deterrent, or that the threat of capital punishment........

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