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“Things happen.” Just two words. That was enough for Donald Trump to effectively dismiss what is arguably the most notorious murder of a reporter of the past ten years – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his contempt for the press, for the media – and for the truth.

The Context

The American leader’s dismissal of the killing of prominent journalist the Washington Post columnist came during a press conference with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the US intelligence found in a recent assessment had ordered the kidnap and killing of the Washington Post columnist in that year. (The crown prince has rejected accusations.)

The US intelligence services were not the only ones to determine the homicide – which occurred in the Saudi diplomatic building in Turkey and in which the late Khashoggi was sedated and cut apart – was approved at the top echelons. An investigation led by then UN special rapporteur, the UN investigator, reached comparable findings.

International Response

For a brief period, nations were in agreement in their condemnation of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The US enacted penalties and travel restrictions in 2021 over the murder, although it stopped short of sanctioning Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the nation has been gradually restoring itself – and the leader’s trip to Washington seemed to be the final confirmation of that rehabilitation.

White House Remarks

Critics of the government had roundly condemned the visit. But what was evident at the White House was more alarming than could have been anticipated. Not only did the president honor Prince Mohammed but he seemed to alter history – and then blamed the victim. Prince Mohammed, he asserted when asked, was unaware about the murder – in direct contradiction to what his nation’s spy agencies concluded four years ago. Moreover, the president said: “Many individuals disliked that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you like him or disapproved, incidents occur.”

Established Conduct

This represents a new and abject low for a president who has made no attempt to hide of his disdain for the facts – or for the media. He has defamed reporters (he called a news network, whose journalist asked the question about the journalist at the Saudi press conference “false information”), scolded them in open settings (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his connection with the convicted sex offender financier the convicted criminal), taken legal action against media organizations for large amounts of money in vexatious law suits, and called for media groups he doesn’t like to be shut down.

He has pressured established media out of the White House press pool for declining to use language of his preference, and he has slashed funding for essential public media at domestically and crucial free press internationally.

Wider Consequences

All of that has created an atmosphere in which journalists are manifestly less safe in the US, but one in which their victimization – and indeed killing – becomes not just insignificant (“incidents occur”) but tolerated (“many individuals disliked that gentleman”).

It is unsurprising that that year was the most lethal year on file for journalists in the over three decades the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has been documenting this data: a persistent failure to hold those responsible for reporter murders has established a environment without consequences in which those who murder reporters are literally able to get away with murder and so persist in these actions.

Nowhere is this clearer than in Israel, which is responsible for the deaths of over two hundred media workers in the past two years.

Societal Impact

The impact on the public is profound. Attacks on journalists are attacks on the truth. They are undermining of reality. They are attacks on our entitlement to information and on our freedom to exist without fear and securely.

On Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists gathers for its yearly International Press Freedom awards. My message there is the same as my one for Trump: such events may happen. But it is our duty to make sure they cease.