Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the Fort Hood shooter, Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, will be executed by firing squad, and that execution will be livestreamed for the public to see.
Swirl that around in your head for a minute. The U.S. government will hold a public execution for the first time in more than 90 years
, and it will broadcast that violent execution on Dec. 3 as if it’s something we should all watch with pride.This is a level of depravity I didn’t think possible, even under the consistently depraved presidency of Donald Trump. This is the kind of thing we see from terrorist groups, or from North Korea, or from Iran. This is morally indefensible.
America doesn't broadcast public executions. Terrorist groups do.
It’s the kind of behavior you’d expect from weak men whose impotence deludes
them into equating violence with strength. It’s radical, and it’s extreme, and more than a bit rich coming from Republicans, who constantly try to label Democrats “extremists.”
Above all, a public execution serves no purpose other than to make two decidedly small public figures – Trump and Hegseth – feel large.
"We'll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it's public," Hegseth said Oct. 8, like an excited teenager with a bright future in serial killing. “Because people need to understand that there are serious consequences for these types of things.”
Oh, do shut up, Hegseth. You’re an unqualified meat sack stuffed full of male insecurity.
Hasan is a murderer, but why help him become a martyr?
Hasan killed 13 people and wounded 32 at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009. He has expressed no remorse and said he wished he had been killed in the attack so he could become a martyr.
Trump and Hegseth apparently want to gift this mass murderer his martyrdom by making sure his death at the hands of the U.S. military is available to anyone with a smartphone.
Never underestimate how far down the gutter Trump will drag America
When I first saw a headline about this decision, I honestly thought it was a hoax. I had to check other news sources to confirm Hegseth actually announced the news.
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. It seems the most-repeated phrase in America throughout President Trump’s time in office has been: “Can we sink any lower?”
The answer, with Trump in charge, is always yes.
Democrats should force Republicans to answer for Trump's depravity
Midterm elections are coming in less than a month, and now Democrats – who are supposed to be extremists if you listen to Trump and members of his party – can ask their Republican opponents: Do you condone a public execution by firing squad that can and undoubtedly will be viewed by children and used as propaganda against our own military by terrorist groups that already hate us? Does broadcasting a state-sanctioned execution fit neatly with your faith and sense of morality?
Make no mistake, anyone answering yes to those things is the real extremist.
They should not only lose their elections. They should be publicly shunned.
Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on Bluesky at @rexhuppke.bsky.social and on Facebook at facebook.com/RexIsAJerk.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: A pubic execution in the U.S.? How much lower can we go? | Opinion
