Pentagon downplays first major public split between Trump and Hegseth

President Donald Trump has stopped a plan to broadcast live the Army's firing-squad execution of Nidal Hasan, the Fort Hood gunman, handing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth a rare public reversal. Hegseth had announced the broadcast a week earlier, arguing it would show that such crimes carry grave consequences. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell insisted the two men are fully aligned and had spoken before Trump posted his decision on Truth Social. A White House official, who requested anonymity, said Trump had not known about the idea. Trump first suggested a livestream could deter terrorists, then concluded that many decent people would not want to watch, though the execution will proceed as scheduled, according to The Independent.

Republicans, religious leaders and international observers had objected, and defense officials told Reuters they were relieved. Senator Mark Kelly introduced legislation to ban livestreamed executions, saying the practice is more typical of Iran and the Taliban. Republican strategists Douglas Heye and Charlie Black doubted the episode would damage the president's bond with Hegseth. Still, talk has grown of a Pentagon shake-up after the November midterms, and Representative Thomas Massie has filed impeachment articles over the Iran hostilities. Hasan, 56, was convicted of killing 13 people in 2009.

Summarized by PolitiKool from The Independent’s reporting. Read the full story at The Independent →