Trump privately questions livestreaming Nidal Hasan’s Dec. 3 execution as bipartisan criticism grows and the president says he will decide

President Donald Trump has privately expressed misgivings about broadcasting the scheduled firing-squad execution of former Army Maj. Nidal Hasan, Axios reported, citing four people who have spoken with him. A senior administration official told Axios that Trump has received negative feedback from lawmakers and advisers across party lines, and one person who spoke with the president said the livestream “might not happen.”

Trump initially voiced support for the broadcast, then took a more qualified position. On Saturday, he said he would make the final decision, citing the argument that showing the execution might deter similar crimes while acknowledging the debate over whether it should be aired.

Vice President JD Vance has also questioned whether the broadcast will go ahead, telling reporters he did not know if it would happen and that he would not watch. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the livestream plan last week, drawing condemnation in the United States and abroad.

The administration remains divided over the broadcast, not the execution itself: some of Trump’s confidants argue a public execution would add humiliation, while others worry it could turn Hasan into a martyr. Hasan was convicted of killing 13 people in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting.

The U.S. Army says Hasan’s execution by firing squad is scheduled for Dec. 3, 2026, at Fort Hood, Texas. Executions in the United States have not been livestreamed in modern history; public executions ended in the late 1930s.