Washington DC - Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth recently revealed his thoughts after President Donald Trump shut down his proposed plans to hold a livestreamed public execution.
On Tuesday, Hegseth was asked by a reporter if he was disappointed that the president nixed the livestream.
Though Hegseth claimed he "agreed" with the decision, he emphasized that the show will go on.
"We both, you know, recognize that death by firing squad is what Nidal Hasan, a terrorist, a traitor, deserves. He will get that. The families will observe it," he said.
"The point is there's a deterrent effect to that also, which follows through whether it's livestreamed or not. So, I fully support the president's approach," he added.
Earlier this month, Hegseth announced the execution of Nidal Hasan – a former Army psychiatrist who was convicted of fatally shooting 13 people at Fort Hood base in 2009 – would be streamed live on December 3.
The Pentagon chief argued that "people need to understand that there's serious consequences for these types of things."
Despite a heavy bipartisan backlash to the announcement, Trump initially said he "absolutely" approved of it.
But in a Truth Social post shared last week, the president appeared to cave to the pressure, saying the event would no longer be streamed.
Trump emphasized that he did not personally oppose the streaming plan, saying that it "might have been a strong deterrent for the World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan."