Trump resolves the controversy over the broadcast of the execution of Nidal Hassan, the perpetrator of the Fort Hood attack.

President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the execution of the execution by firing squad against Nidal Hassan, the perpetrator of the Fort Hood attack, would not be broadcast live, retracting a previous announcement made by the Pentagon last week.

“I thought broadcasting the execution for all to see would be a powerful deterrent, so that the world could see how America deals with terrorists and scumbags like Hassan,” Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform. “But a lot of good, well-intentioned people would rather not watch him die, whether via live broadcast or any other visual means.”

Trump added, referring to Nidal Hassan, who was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding dozens in a 2009 attack, that “he will be executed, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be broadcast live.” He pointed out that the first-degree relatives of the victims will be able to witness the execution of the sentence in person.

CNN reported earlier this week that the president and his advisors were discussing canceling plans to live broadcast the execution, noting that Trump acknowledged in private conversations that he did not initially know that Nidal Hassan was paralyzed from the waist down.

According to sources familiar with these discussions, the president was not aware that US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced last week that the administration intended to allow the public to watch the execution, and he was initially unsure how to handle this matter. However, multiple officials confirmed to CNN that Trump was strongly in favor of carrying out Hassan's death sentence by firing squad, a decision he has publicly defended on several occasions.

The plan to broadcast the execution live was met with immediate bipartisan opposition, and officials within the Pentagon and the US military were surprised, according to previous CNN reports.

Popular opposition to this idea was also strong; An opinion poll conducted by ABC News in cooperation with the Washington Post and Ipsos, the results of which were published on Thursday, showed that 80% of American adults, including 64% of Republicans, opposed broadcasting the execution live.

It is noteworthy that Hegseth had initially recommended that Hassan be executed by firing squad, which Trump agreed to.

The sentence is scheduled to be carried out on December 3 at the Fort Hood military base. It will be the first execution of an American soldier by firing squad since World War II, and the first execution of the death penalty against a member of the American armed forces in 65 years.