President Donald Trump's own inner circle was shocked by the news that he had signed off on Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's order of public execution against Nidal Malik Hassan. It's America's first public execution in nearly a century.
"The idea seemed to shock even some of his colleagues in the administration," reported The New York Times' Peter Baker on Friday. "Vice President JD Vance cast doubt that it would be livestreamed, telling reporters that “I don’t know that that’s going to happen” and adding that he would not watch if it does."
Baker added, "But Mr. Trump said he signed off on it. 'Did I approve' he said. 'Absolutely I did.'" He pointed out that "no public execution has been conducted in the United States in 90 years, and the decision to conduct this one in front of an audience would put the country in the company of Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea and Somalia."
Baker also quoted a Republican lawmaker who, though outgoing, retains influence within the president's party in the Senate.
"Even some supporters of capital punishment flinched at the idea of livestreaming Mr. Hasan’s execution, calling it medieval and barbaric," Baker reported. "'Hasan should face the death penalty, but making his execution public and streaming it? Beyond disgusting,' said Senator Thom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina. 'Public executions are what oppressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do. It should not be happening in America.'"
Hasan murdered 13 people and injured 32 others at a military base in Fort Hood in Texas in 2009.
The outrage also came from conservatives and military professionals outside of the administration. On Thursday Billy Binion, reporter for the libertarian magazine Reason Magazine, wrote on X that “this is sick. You can support justice for Nidal Hasan’s victims without making his execution a source of entertainment. This administration so often governs for the online mob. It’s depraved.”
Glenn Greenwald, formerly of The Intercept and sometimes sympathetic to Trump, declared that “there are a very small number of countries that still carry out public executions. Those are the countries we are constantly told are uniquely primitive, barbaric, sick and evil. It’s revealing that Pete Hegseth wants the US to join that group but also entirely unsurprising.”
A retired intelligence officer, Travis Akers, argued that "this is vile. Does he deserve the death penalty? One million times yes and may he rot in h - - -. Should this be streamed for entertainment like the Romans throwing Christians to lions? Absolutely not." Other mental health experts who spoke with AlterNet described Trump as a "maniac" who appeals to racism and sexism.
