<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Vice President JD Vance expressed skepticism on Friday regarding the planned livestream of the execution of convicted Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan, which is scheduled for early December.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Vance made his remarks during a visit to Cincinnati to participate in early voting for the 2026 midterm elections. As a devout Catholic, he was asked about the compatibility of the livestreaming of the execution with his faith, to which he responded, "I don’t know if that’s actually going to happen." </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">President Donald Trump approved Hasan’s execution earlier this week. However, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth indicated on Thursday that the event would be televised, a decision that has faced criticism from both Democrats and some Republicans.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Vance stated, “What I try to remind people is, look, this is a guy who committed, in my view, the worst terrorist attack on American soil outside of 9/11. The people that he was meant to treat, the Army soldiers that he was meant to treat for mental illness and other problems, he took them at their most vulnerable and gunned down these people where they lived.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">He also mentioned that if the execution is livestreamed, he would not watch it. “Now that said, I mean, look, if it’s through livestream, I’m not going to be watching it,” he added.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Laura Loomer, a conservative activist and supporter of Trump, criticized Vance’s stance, questioning why he would not want to watch the execution of Hasan, whom she referred to as an Islamic terrorist. She stated on X, “Watching the execution of a jihadist who killed American soldiers is peak patriotism.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Vance’s comments followed a condemnation from Archbishop Paul Coakley, the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Coakley expressed his disapproval of the Department of War’s decision to publicly livestream Hasan’s execution, stating, “It is with shock and great sorrow that I have learned of the Department of War’s decision to publicly livestream the execution of Nidal Hassan. Our God is the God of life. In no way can Hassan’s actions be condoned but this decision is a barbaric promotion of a culture of death and must be reconsidered.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">On Thursday, Hegseth stated that the Pentagon would livestream the event to demonstrate that there are serious consequences for such actions.</p>