President Trump nixes idea of livesteaming an execution

Poynter · Tom Jones · last updated October 16, 2026 – 3:46 AM

Previously, Trump has stood by Pete Hegseth’s controversial choices. The reversal marks the president’s first major break with the defense secretary.

A week ago, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth proposed livestreaming the firing-squad execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, a former Army major who killed 13 people and injured another 32 in a 2009 shooting at Fort Hood in Texas.

President Donald Trump said he approved the idea.

here today, more tomorrow

We’ve launched briefing.center with a focus on the press and media.

And we’ve added Citizen Cartwright, a daily quick-read news summary by veteran Washington journalist Linda Cartwright. We’ve also created a new voting rights knowledge center for Citizen Cartwright subscribers. (You can sign up for a dedicated morning email at citizencartwright.com.)

You can sign up here for full access to press and media and Citizen Cartwright on briefing.center.

You can use briefing.center as the center of your information management, or just one of your tools. We’re happy to discuss your information needs.