Trump reverses Fort Hood livestream decision as survivors say 'we're not barbaric' after 80% of Americans opposed it
Nidal Hasan (left), who killed 13 soldiers at Fort Hood in 2009, faces a firing squad execution on 3 December — the first US military execution in more than 60 years.Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Clarksville, Tennessee, in October 2026. Trump has since overruled Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth's plan to livestream Hasan's execution, saying many well-meaning people "would rather…
President Donald Trump has backed down from plans to publicly broadcast the firing squad execution of Fort Hood killer Nidal Hasan, announcing on Truth Social that "many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die." The reversal came after a Washington Post-ABC-Ipsos poll found 80 per cent of US adults opposed the livestream, and after condemnation from the UN, Pope Leo and politicians on both sides of the aisle. Hasan, who killed 13 soldiers including a pregnant woman and her unborn child, will still face a firing squad on 3 December in what will be the first US military execution in more than 60 years. Trump said victims' families can still attend in person, adding: "They deserve to witness JUSTICE!"
Fort Hood survivor Alonzo Lunsford, shot seven times by Hasan during the 2009 attack, called Trump's climbdown a 'positive move' for the nation.
Trump's post also blamed Barack Obama's FBI for ignoring intercepted communications between Hasan and radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki before the massacre.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who originally called livestreaming the execution a 'no-brainer', now backs the reversal, with the Pentagon saying the two men are 'completely aligned'.
