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“Things happen.” Just two words. That was enough for Donald Trump to brush off what is arguably the most infamous murder of a reporter of the last decade – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his disregard toward the press, for journalism – and for the truth.

Background Details

The US president’s dismissal of the killing of well-known reporter Jamal Khashoggi came during a press conference with the Saudi leader, MBS – a man whom the US intelligence concluded in a recent assessment had orchestrated the abduction and murder of the Washington Post columnist in that year. (The crown prince has denied involvement.)

The American spy agencies were not the sole entities to conclude the homicide – which took place in the Saudi diplomatic building in Istanbul and in which the late Khashoggi was drugged and dismembered – was approved at the top echelons. An inquiry led by former UN expert, the UN investigator, reached similar conclusions.

Global Reactions

For a short time, governments were in agreement in their condemnation of the kingdom’s conduct. The US imposed penalties and visa bans in that year over the killing, although it refrained of penalizing Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the nation has been gradually restoring itself – and the leader’s trip to Washington seemed to be the ultimate sign of that rehabilitation.

Presidential Comments

Opponents of the government had roundly condemned the meeting. But what was evident at the presidential residence was more alarming than could have been anticipated. Not only did the president honor Prince Mohammed but he effectively rewrote the facts – and then pointed fingers at the victim. Prince Mohammed, Trump asserted when asked, knew nothing about the murder – in direct contradiction to what his nation’s intelligence services determined four years ago. Moreover, the president said: “A lot of people didn’t like that person that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or didn’t like him, incidents occur.”

Established Conduct

This marks a fresh and shameful low for a president who has made little secret of his disdain for the truth – or for the press. He has smeared reporters (he called ABC news, whose journalist asked the inquiry about Khashoggi at the Saudi press conference “false information”), scolded them in public (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his relationship with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein), sued news outlets for large amounts of money in frivolous cases, and called for news outlets he disapproves of to be shut down.

He has forced established media out of the White House press pool for refusing to use language of his choosing, and he has slashed financial support for essential public media at domestically and vital independent media abroad.

Wider Consequences

All of that has created an environment in which reporters are clearly more vulnerable in the US, but one in which their targeting – and indeed murder – becomes not just insignificant (“incidents occur”) but acceptable (“a lot of people disliked that person”).

It is unsurprising that 2024 was the most lethal year on record for journalists in the over three decades the press freedom organization has been documenting this information: a ongoing neglect to hold those responsible for journalist killings has established a culture of impunity in which those who murder reporters are actually able to escape punishment and so persist in these actions.

In no place is this clearer than in the Middle Eastern nation, which is responsible for the deaths of more than 200 media workers in the past two years.

Societal Impact

The impact on the public is profound. Attacks on journalists are assaults on facts. They are attacks on facts. They are attacks on our entitlement to information and on our freedom to exist without fear and safely.

On Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists meets for its annual International Press Freedom awards. The statement there is the same as my one for the president: these things may occur. But it is our duty to make sure they cease.