President Donald Trump suggested he is still undecided on whether the execution of the Fort Hood shooter will be livestreamed, saying he'll "ultimately" be the one to make the decision.
"By showing it, maybe other people won't be doing what he did, so I'll make a decision ultimately," Trump said outside the White House on Oct. 10. "I know what the military would like to do, but we'll make a decision."
On Oct. 8, Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth announced that he would make public a livestream of the military firing squad execution of Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who was convicted in 2009 in the killing of 13 individuals and injuring more than 31 others at the Fort Hood, Texas, military base. The announcement has since sparked backlash from both Democrats
and Republicans, who call it the behavior of dictators and terrorist organizations.
Trump still has not made it clear whether he is ok with the public execution, saying on Oct. 10 that Hasan "was vicious, he was violent. There are two thoughts: Show it and don't show it." The day before, Trump said Hasan "deserves it," but it was unclear whether he meant the execution itself or that it be livestreamed.
"I have two thoughts: He's a vicious killer, killed 13 people in cold blood, wounded over 20, some of those people will never have their lives back in a true sense," Trump said on Oct. 10.
Vice President JD Vance said on Oct. 9 that he would not watch the execution if it was livestreamed and that he doesn't "know that that's actually going to happen." Vance is a Catholic, and on Oct. 10, the American Pope Leo XIV spoke out against the death penalty on the heels of the controversial announcement.
When asked by CNBC whether he would allow the livestream to be broadcast, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr said he would "defer to" Hegseth, but also that his "understanding is it's not on broadcast TV, so I don't think there's a role for the FCC there one way or the other."
The firing squad execution is set to take place on Dec. 3 at the same Fort Hood base where Hasan carried out the mass shooting.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump says he will decide whether military execution is livestreamed
