President Donald Trump on Friday appeared to leave open the possibility that the federal government won’t livestream a military execution planned for December that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had said would be public.
But Trump also told reporters at the White House that he had “absolutely” approved livestreaming the execution.
The apparently contradictory comments came as the Trump administration faced a wave of criticism over plans to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, a former Army major convicted of killing 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009. Hegseth announced Thursday that Hasan’s death by firing squad would be public.
“I’m going to make a determination about that, but he will be killed,” Trump first told reporters when asked about the livestream.
A short time later, Trump was asked whether he had approved livestreaming the execution. He replied, “Did I approve? Absolutely.”
Plans for the public execution came under bipartisan condemnation from lawmakers, along with numerous religious figures, Thursday and Friday.
Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, wrote on social media that public executions are “what oppressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do.” He called the plans “beyond disgusting.”
Sen. Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, on social media urged the Pentagon to reverse course.
“We are long past the days of public hangings in the town square,” Murray wrote. “Kids watch what our leaders do and say, is this kind of bloodshed really what we want them seeing?
Even Vice President JD Vance cast doubt on whether the execution would be broadcast. He told reporters that if it’s ultimately livestreamed, “I’m not gonna be watching it.”
