Note to readers: We’ll be off on Monday for Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Go touch some grass!
**Pete Hegseth is handing ISIS and al-Qaida a “propaganda win” by vowing to livestream a public execution, Trump’s former counterterrorism chief tells What A Day.
There aren’t many countries that routinely stage public executions these days. In fact,
there are only two left: Afghanistan and Iran.Saudi ArabiaandNorth Koreahave done so more sporadically (and Saudi Arabia seems tohave stopped in 2019). Now, however, the Trump administration appears determined to add America’s name to that tiny list of countries that still engage in a practice widely shunned as barbaric and inhumane.
The Trump administration announced plans this week to livestream the
firing-squad executionof the wheelchair-bound terrorist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who was sentenced to death after fatally shooting 13 people and injuring 32 others at the Fort Hood military base in Texas in 2009.
“We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it,” Hegseth
▶told aright-wing personality. “Because people need to understand that there’s serious consequences for these types of things.”
An American-born Muslim, Hasan worked as a U.S. Army psychiatrist in Fort Hood. He had decided that America was at war with the Islamic world, and that he would switch sides. And yet Hegseth’s pledge to livestream his execution has enraged e
ven some peoplein Trumpworld — because of what it says about the United States, and the message it sends to America’s enemies.
A public execution by firing squad would be a “propaganda win” for ISIS and al-Qaida, Joe Kent, who served as Trump’s former director of the National Counterterrorism Center, told
What A Day. “Videos and images from the execution will be used to drive recruitment for those organizations.”
Kent’s view carries weight. Before he resigned from his job as Trump’s counterterrorism chief in March over concerns about the Iran war, Kent was known as a devout MAGA loyalist with “
ties to far-right conspiracies.” He doesn’t often criticize Trump policies, unless it pertains to the war in Iran.
Kent doesn’t oppose the death penalty. He views the firing squad as “borderline too merciful” for Hasan, he
𝕏tweeted. But livestreaming the execution could be disastrous for American counterterrorism efforts — and could even inspire more terroristic attacks, he told me.
Terrorist groups “will likely use the optics of the U.S. killing a Muslim man in a wheelchair and clips of American leaders glorifying that we are livestreaming it,” Kent said. “It will tie into [the] narrative that the American people are legit military targets because the American people chose their leaders, who in turn inflict death and destruction on Muslims.”
Hegseth’s plan is uniting people from across the political spectrum.
Airing the firing squad death for the world to see would be tantamount to torture,
according to the United Nations. Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI)describedthe idea as a “barbaric spectacle.” Journalist Glenn Greenwald𝕏pointed outthat only the most repressive countries carry out public executions.
Such a primitive punishment will “inevitably” lead to “societal decay” in the United States, Kent said. “I strongly believe that our leaders should not be glorifying killing because our leaders should represent the best values of America, not a voyeuristic display of violence,” he told me.
Even Vice President JD Vance doesn’t love the idea of the livestream.
“I don’t know that’s actually gonna happen,” Vance told reporters. “If it’s ultimately livestreamed, I’m not gonna be watching it.”
**Trump hasn’t yet commented on the execution being public. **But he did double down on his support for the firing squad today, saying: “He deserves it.”
** Donald Trump apparently asked Russian dictator **Vladimir Putin today to help solve the global diesel crisis that Trump helped create by attacking Iran. Trump said he called Putin, who agreed to “immediately supply” over 300,000 tons of diesel to the U.S. and other countries. Putin also pledged to provide another 500,000 tons through November, and 1 million tons after that. I’m sure Putin will want
** The White House appointed a committee to investigate **Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, alleging that she made false statements relating to “one or more mortgage instruments.” It’s an extraordinary example of Trump revamping his retribution campaign against Cook, who has resisted his calls to support lowering interest rates. One of the three people on this committee is Kevin Hassett, Trump’s economic chief, so you know the probe will be
** A top ICE official claimed that agents opened fire **on a 28-year-old Dominican man inside his car in New York City on Thursday because they feared for their lives. The 5-year-old son of the man, who the official said was shot “superficially” in the neck, was in the back seat at the time. The man’s condition is unclear.
** Former White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s successor **will be Katie Zacharia, a conservative commentator who briefly worked at the Department of Homeland Security, according to the
** Former Trump aide Katie Miller, who’s married **to Stephen Miller, hosts extravagant parties for Trumpworld’s elite at their home on a military base in the D.C. area. “Hibachi chefs erected onion volcanoes and squirted sake into the mouths of guests. On the lawn, a mechanical bull bounced shrieking children into the air,” Vanity Fair writes about a party thrown for Leavitt. What is this, Voldemort’s big weekend at
** Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) slammed Democrats **on the Senate Judiciary Committee for asking him to apologize after Sen. Eric Schmitt’s (R-MO) falsely accused Jack Smith of attending a NBA basketball game, in a bungled attempt to prove that Smith was part of a conspiracy to target Trump. “You see, your side can’t argue about Rules when your side doesn’t play by them,” Grassley wrote in a letter. What???
** Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) absolutely mogged** his opponent, Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) in the Georgia Senate debate last night (
Nobel Peace Prize winner Navi Pillay, a human rights lawyer, mocked Donald Trump while accepting the award today. “If you clap a little bit more, I may share this prize with Trump,” 𝕏she joked to an applauding audience.
** Donald Trump’s plans to build a massive arch** is facing a new lawsuit from Arlington County, Virginia, which opposes the construction. The rushed construction process “appears to be a pretext designed to shore up justifications for building the Arch in accordance with the President’s repeated marching orders,” the lawsuit reads.
** Sheryl Crow wasn’t afraid to get political **on “Pick You Up,” her 13th album that came out today. “I happen to have always gravitated to writers that wrote the stories in a documenting kind of way — the Dylans and the Springsteens — who have glimpsed into any given moment in our evolution,” Crow told the
** Harry Styles and Radiohead legend Thom Yorke **interviewed each other for
** A brainiac at MIT named John Urschel cracked** a decades-old math problem with the help of artificial intelligence, becoming the latest in a string of mathematicians to combine their expertise with supercomputing to further their field. The coolest part? Urschel used to be an offensive lineman in the NFL, but retired in 2017 to pursue his academic passions. “I feel like I bet on myself in a big way,” he told the
** What’s your state’s favorite Halloween candy? **The most popular candy was Reese’s, followed by Sweet Smiles, Laffy Taffy, and Sweetarts. Florida and Texas are the only two that chose Airheads… which just makes sense for some reason.
Meet Lola! Aka, Loly Bear. She’s a loving and lovable Chiweenie Dachshund Pom. She’s very good natured and loves making friends. Tomorrow is her mom Chelsea’s birthday!
“Lola’s a true ‘velcro dog.’ There’s nothing she’d rather do than stay 1-2 feet away from Chelsea at all times. Her other interests include treats, short walks, barking at the neighbor dog Caleb, getting shout-outs from strangers, and watching movies on the couch from beginning to end (so she can quietly growl at any dog or horse that appears on screen).
“Happy birthday, Chelsea!”
— Greg, News Editor at Crooked Media
