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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 past ten years – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his disregard toward journalists, for the media – and for the truth.

The Context

The US president’s dismissive attitude 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 orchestrated the kidnap and killing of the Washington Post columnist in 2018. (Prince Mohammed has rejected accusations.)

The American spy agencies were not the sole entities to conclude the homicide – which occurred in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and in which the 59-year-old Khashoggi was drugged and cut apart – was approved at the highest levels. An investigation led by then UN special rapporteur, the UN investigator, reached similar conclusions.

Global Reactions

For a short time, nations were unified in their criticism of the kingdom’s conduct. The US imposed penalties and travel restrictions in that year over the killing, although it stopped short of sanctioning the crown prince 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

Opponents of the regime had roundly condemned the meeting. But what was on display at the White House was worse than could have been imagined. Not only did the president fete Prince Mohammed but he effectively rewrote the facts – and then pointed fingers at the victim. Prince Mohammed, he asserted when asked, was unaware about the killing – in clear opposition to what his country’s own spy agencies concluded four years ago. Moreover, the president said: “A lot of people didn’t like that person that you’re talking about, whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen.”

Established Conduct

This represents a new and abject low for a leader who has made little secret of his disdain for the truth – or for the press. Trump has smeared reporters (he called ABC news, whose reporter asked the inquiry about the journalist at the Saudi press conference “fake news”), scolded them in open settings (he called one a “piggy” this week for asking about his relationship with the convicted sex offender financier the convicted criminal), taken legal action against media organizations for eye-watering sums of money in vexatious law suits, and called for media groups he disapproves of to lose their licenses.

He has forced veteran news services out of the White House press pool for declining to use terminology of his choosing, and he has gutted funding for vital news services at domestically and vital independent media internationally.

Wider Consequences

All of that has fostered an environment in which journalists are manifestly less safe in the US, but one in which their victimization – and indeed murder – becomes not just unimportant (“incidents occur”) but acceptable (“a lot of people didn’t like that person”).

It is unsurprising that 2024 was the deadliest year on record for the press in the more than 30 years the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has been documenting this data: a persistent failure to hold those accountable for journalist killings 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.

In no place is this clearer than in the Middle Eastern nation, which is accountable for the killing of over two hundred media workers in the recent period.

Effect on Society

The impact on society is deep. Attacks on journalists are attacks on the truth. They are undermining of reality. They are attacks on our rights to know and on our liberty to live freely and safely.

On Thursday, CPJ gathers for its yearly International Press Freedom awards. My message at the event is the identical as my one for Trump: these things may occur. But it is our duty to make sure they cease.