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The surreal reason Trump caved on Hasan's livestreamed execution
What happened
Donald Trump abandoned a plan to livestream the December 3 firing-squad execution of Nidal Hasan after overwhelming public opposition made the spectacle politically costly. AlterNet reports that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the broadcast on October 8 and called it a “no-brainer”; Trump initially approved, then announced on October 15 that the execution would proceed without a livestream. The article attributes the reversal to backlash and suggests that concern about the optics of executing a paralyzed man in a wheelchair—and about approaching midterm elections—also…
The skinny
The skinny isn't ready yet — notes appear once the transcript is processed.