Trump announced that the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan will not be broadcast live, thus disavowing what was established by the head of the Pentagon (who is meanwhile increasingly at odds with Vance). Unconfirmed rumors also speak of a possible firing of the Secretary of War immediately after the November midterms
The chair is becoming more and more wobbly Pete Hegseth. Thursday, Donald Trump announced that the execution of Nidal Malik Hasanconvicted of the 2009 murders of 13 people at the Fort Hood military base, will not be live streamed.
«I believe that streaming the execution could have been a strong deterrent to the world, showing how America treats terrorists and scum like Hassan. However, many kind-hearted and well-intentioned people would prefer not to witness his death, either via streaming or other visual means. He will die, as expected, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed,” the US president said on Truth.
How Trump «disowned» Pete Hegseth
The decision of Trump he then blatantly disavowed it Hegsethwhich, last week, had ruled that the execution of Hassan would have been streamed, thus sparking an uproar of controversy. Various MPs, both Dem and Republican, criticized his decision.
Not only that. He was also the one who expressed annoyance JD Vance. “I won’t watch it,” the US vice president said, referring to the live streaming execution. Coldness had also been expressed by a close parliamentary ally of Trumplike it Speaker of the Chamber, Mike Johnson.
The same occupant of the White House, in recent days, while approving that Hassan be executed by firing squad, he had been privately hesitant about broadcasting the execution to the general public.
In particular, second The Atlanticthe president would have found, within the administration, total skepticism towards the controversial initiative of Hegseth. Not only that. According to the newspaper, even the highest echelons of the Pentagon and intelligence were unpleasantly surprised by the decision of the Secretary of War: these apparatuses feared, in particular, that the live execution of a Muslim, as Hassancould be used by jihadist organizations for recruitment purposes. All this has, in the end, led Trump to disavow Hegseth. Which will obviously have repercussions on the internal balance of the US administration.
The political decline of Pete Hegseth
Moreover, although the president has repeatedly defended the head of the Pentagon and publicly denied disagreements with him, the relationship between the two is not too idyllic. At the beginning of August, the Washington Post reported how there had been considerable tension between them: Trumpaccording to the newspaper, in particular he asked for explanations from Hegseth regarding the depletion of ammunition supplies plaguing the American military. Furthermore, as pointed out by NBC Newsit is not the first time that the president has bypassed the current head of the Pentagon. In July 2025, Trump he annulled, for example, a decision of Hegseth aimed at blocking an arms shipment to Ukraine.
The stop to streaming execution is also a clear win for Vance who is notoriously at loggerheads with the Secretary of War: the latter was in fact on a collision course with the then Secretary of Defense Dan Driscoll, who was a close ally of the vice president. Ultimately, as a result of these tensions, Driscoll he resigned in September: an event that greatly irritated the number two in the White House.
More generally, Vance doesn’t appreciate how Hegseth managed the Iranian crisis. Last but not least, recently NBC News reported that the Pentagon chief is considering a candidacy for nominations Republican presidential election in 2028: news that will undoubtedly not be liked by Vancewhose presidential ambitions are well known.
How the situation could evolve
Then you have to be careful. In recent days, unconfirmed rumors have begun to circulate according to which Trumpincreasingly dissatisfied with him, would be ready to fire Hegseth immediately following the Nov. 3 midterm elections. It is unclear how true this rumor is.
However, it is clear that, both for his purges at the Pentagon and for his conduct of the conflict with Tehran, the Secretary of War has made a large number of enemies both within the administration and within the Republican parliamentary patrol. The stop of Trump to streaming execution therefore represents a further blow to the influence of Hegsethwho, perhaps, looks to a possible presidential candidacy as an honorable exit from the War Department. Time will tell what will actually become of his political future. But, probably never like today, the armchair of Hegseth it turned out to be so shaky.
