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“Things happen.” Just two words. That’s all it took for Donald Trump to effectively dismiss what is probably the most notorious murder of a reporter of the past ten years – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his disregard toward the press, for the media – and for the truth.

Background Details

The US president’s dismissal of the killing of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi came during a press conference with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the CIA found in a recent assessment had ordered the kidnap and killing of the Washington Post columnist in 2018. (The crown prince has rejected accusations.)

The American spy agencies were not the sole entities to determine the murder – which took place in the Saudi consulate in Turkey and in which the late journalist was drugged and cut apart – was approved at the top echelons. An investigation led by former UN expert, the UN investigator, reached similar conclusions.

Global Reactions

For a brief period, governments were in agreement in their condemnation of the kingdom’s conduct. The US enacted sanctions and travel restrictions in 2021 over the murder, although it refrained of penalizing the crown prince himself. Since then, the kingdom has been slowly rehabilitating itself – and the crown prince’s visit to Washington seemed to be the ultimate sign of that redemption.

White House Remarks

Opponents of the government had roundly condemned the visit. But what was on display at the presidential residence was more alarming than could have been imagined. Not only did the president fete the Saudi leader but he seemed to alter history – and then pointed fingers at the deceased. The crown prince, Trump claimed when asked, knew nothing about the murder – in direct contradiction to what his nation’s spy agencies determined previously. 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 new and abject low for a president who has made little secret of his contempt for the facts – or for the media. Trump has smeared journalists (he called a news network, whose reporter asked the question about Khashoggi at the media event “false information”), berated them in public (he called one a “piggy” this week for asking about his connection with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein), sued media organizations for eye-watering sums of money in vexatious law suits, and called for news outlets he doesn’t like to lose their licenses.

He has forced established media out of the official briefing group for declining to use terminology of his choosing, and he has gutted financial support for vital news services at domestically and crucial free press internationally.

Broader Implications

All of that has created an environment in which journalists are manifestly less safe in the United States, but one in which their targeting – and indeed murder – becomes not just unimportant (“incidents occur”) but tolerated (“many individuals didn’t like that person”).

It is no surprise that 2024 was the deadliest year on record for the press in the more than 30 years the press freedom organization has been tracking this information: 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.

In no place is this more evident than in Israel, which is responsible for the killing of more than 200 media workers in the past two years.

Effect on Society

The effect on society is deep. Targeting reporters are assaults on facts. They are undermining of reality. They are attacks on our rights to know and on our freedom to live freely and safely.

This week, the Committee to Protect Journalists meets for its annual global journalism honors. My message there is the same as my one for Trump: such events may happen. But it is our responsibility to make sure they cease.