Abandoning the broadcast represents a setback for Hegseth, who is facing criticism over the war with Iran and its repercussions, which is casting a shadow over Trump's Republican Party ahead of the midterm elections in November.
The US President wrote on his "Truth Social" platform that Hasan, a military doctor and former officer in the US Army, "will be executed, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be broadcast live."
He said in his post, "I believe that broadcasting the execution live, for all to see, would have been a powerful deterrent to the entire world, as everyone could then have seen how the United States deals with terrorists and the likes of Hasan, the scum."
He added, "However, many honorable and well-meaning people prefer not to witness the moment of his death, whether through a live broadcast or any other visual means," explaining that the victims' families will be able to attend the execution in person if they wish.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed that Hegseth and Trump spoke before Trump's announcement to abandon the live broadcast. He stressed that "the Secretary supports the President's decision, and they are in complete agreement."
Hasan, 56, is scheduled to be executed on December 3 at Fort Hood base in Texas (south), where he killed 13 people, including 12 soldiers, and wounded more than 30 others in an attack he carried out on November 5, 2009, inspired by Al-Qaeda.
This will be the first execution carried out by the US military since 1961, and the first execution by firing squad since 1945.
Hegseth had said last week, "We will make sure that people will be able to watch it, and that it will be public," before later confirming that the execution would be broadcast live.
- Majority of Americans oppose -
Criticism of the plan escalated quickly following Hegseth's announcement.
The United Nations considered that broadcasting the execution would constitute "torture," while the president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops described the move as a "barbaric promotion of a culture of death," and the prime ministers of Australia and Britain described it as "abhorrent."
Vice President JD Vance also distanced himself from Hegseth's announcement, a former Fox News host known for his penchant for military-style spectacles.
A poll conducted by The Washington Post, ABC News, and Ipsos, the results of which were published on Thursday, showed that 80 percent of Americans oppose broadcasting the execution live.
Lawmakers from both the Democratic and Republican parties expressed their opposition to the plan, including Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who warned that it could become "a tool for recruiting terrorists in the future."
Dozens of retired US military officers also warned against broadcasting the execution.
The officers, including more than 40 generals and admirals, said in an open letter that broadcasting the execution "would tarnish the honor of the military institution that carries it out, and the nation that permits it," and would lead to "turning Hasan into a martyr for attacking and killing his fellow soldiers."
The last military execution in the United States was carried out in 1961, when John Bennett was executed by hanging for rape and attempted murder.
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, the US Armed Forces have executed 135 service members since 1916.
According to Amnesty International, at least 17 public executions were carried out in 2025, six of them in Afghanistan and 11 in Iran.
Twelve of the 13 people killed by Hasan and 30 of the wounded were soldiers.
Hasan was shot by a civilian police officer at the scene of the attack, which left him paralyzed from the waist down.
Hasan chose to defend himself during his trial, but he did not call witnesses, testify, or attempt to deny the charges against him, before a military jury sentenced him to death in 2013.
The court that convicted Hasan was informed that he opposed the US military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that he had communicated online with the preacher Anwar al-Awlaki, a US citizen who was later killed in a US drone strike in Yemen and is suspected of having ties to Al-Qaeda.
