President Donald Trump on Thursday questioned how Christa Piker, who was scheduled to be executed this week for the 1995 premeditated murder of Colleen Slemmer but was hospitalized after surviving, did not succumb to two doses of a lethal injection.
Asked while standing with Texas politicians at an event, Trump deferred to Tennessee officials before questioning the outcome.
“You’re going to have to speak to Tennessee about it, whether or not they’re going to go forward,” said Trump. “You know what that was about, that was an execution where the medication didn’t exactly work.”
🚨 JUST IN: President Trump speaks out on the FAILED execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee last night
"That was an execution where the medication didn't exactly work. It shouldn't be very difficult!"
We need to make this MUCH EASIER and just DISPATCH THE FIRING SQUAD!
Come… pic.twitter.com/HbG95GO8HH
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) October 1, 2026
Pointing to U.S. Representative Ronny Jackson (R-TX-13), who was standing to his right, Trump asked, “He would answer that better than anybody, how does that happen?”
Jackson replied, “It should be easy to do.”
Trump’s comments follow those by U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who in response to the news of Pike’s survival said she would “bring back the electric chair” if elected governor.
Blackburn doubled down on those comments Friday.
“When someone has had a trial, they’ve been given the death penalty, they have exhausted all of their appeals, then that execution needs to be carried out swiftly, so that family can get closure,” said Blackburn.
She added, “It is difficult for families when someone is on death row for decades, and every time there’s a trial or appeal, those loved ones are reliving that incident, that trauma, that loss.”
We need to prioritize justice for victims’ families. It is difficult for families when a perpetrator remains on death row for decades.
Every trial and appeal forces them to relive that trauma and loss. As governor, I will work to ensure executions are carried out in a timely… pic.twitter.com/Minsa7ZeCF
— Marsha Blackburn (@VoteMarsha) October 2, 2026
Pike remains hospitalized following the failed execution. Her legal team claimed it has been unable to communicate with the inmate, and has suggested their client may have experienced brain damage.
U.S. Representative Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) suggested Tennessee would move forward with the execution despite such a change in medical circumstances, offering options including hanging and firing squads.
“We can use the electric chair, it was used the last few years, and there’s a question whether it’s cruel and inhuman punishment, hear that all the time,” said Burchett. “Well, the firing squad and hanging are 100 percent.”
Katie Pavlich was not expecting this answer from Rep. Tim Burchett when she asked what Tennessee should do after botching the execution of Christa Pike.
It was blunt, but it needed to be said.
Pike survived TWO attempts at lethal injection this week after being convicted in… pic.twitter.com/nIwjk0iG5l
— Overton (@overton_news) October 2, 2026
Pike would not be the first person sentenced to die who experienced brain damage as the result of a failed execution.
After one death row inmate survived the electric chair due to an equipment malfunction, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1947 that accidental failure to complete an execution did not make further attempts unconstitutional.
More recently, in 2019, the high court determined that the existence of a brain injury was not sufficient to stop the execution of a death row inmate who was suffering from dementia and the effects of strokes.
Governor Bill Lee paused all executions for the remainder of 2026 after the failure to execute Pike. In May, Tennessee stopped the execution of another death row inmate, Tony Carruthers, after officials could not establish intravenous access.
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
