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“Things happen.” Just two words. That was enough for Donald Trump to brush off what is probably the most notorious journalist killing of the last decade – and in so doing sank to a fresh depth in his disregard toward journalists, for the media – and for the truth.

Background Details

The American leader’s dismissal of the murder of well-known reporter Jamal Khashoggi came during a media briefing with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the US intelligence found in a 2021 report had ordered the abduction and murder of the Washington Post columnist in 2018. (The crown prince has rejected accusations.)

The American spy agencies were not the only ones to determine the murder – which took place in the Saudi consulate in Turkey and in which the late Khashoggi was drugged and cut apart – was signed off at the top echelons. An investigation led by former UN expert, Agnès Callamard, reached comparable findings.

International Response

For a short time, governments were unified in their condemnation of the kingdom’s conduct. The United States enacted sanctions and visa bans in 2021 over the killing, although it refrained of penalizing the crown prince himself. Since then, the nation has been gradually restoring itself – and the crown prince’s visit to the US capital seemed to be the ultimate sign of that redemption.

White House Remarks

Critics of the regime had strongly criticized the meeting. But what was evident at the presidential residence was more alarming than could have been imagined. Not only did Trump fete Prince Mohammed but he effectively rewrote history – and then pointed fingers at the victim. The crown prince, Trump asserted when asked, was unaware about the murder – in clear opposition to what his country’s own spy agencies concluded previously. Moreover, the president said: “Many individuals didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you like him or disapproved, incidents occur.”

Established Conduct

This marks a fresh and shameful low for a leader who has made little secret of his disdain for the truth – or for the press. Trump has defamed journalists (he called a news network, whose journalist asked the question about Khashoggi at the media event “fake news”), 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 news outlets for large amounts of money in frivolous cases, and called for media groups he disapproves of to lose their licenses.

He has pressured established media out of the White House press pool for refusing to use terminology of his preference, and he has gutted funding for essential public media at domestically and vital independent media abroad.

Broader Implications

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 tolerated (“a lot of people disliked that person”).

It is no surprise that 2024 was the most lethal year on file for journalists in the more than 30 years the press freedom organization has been documenting this information: a ongoing neglect to bring to justice those responsible for reporter murders has created a culture of impunity in which those who murder reporters are actually able to get away with murder and so persist in these actions.

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

Societal Impact

The effect on society is profound. Targeting reporters are assaults on facts. They are attacks on facts. They are attacks on our rights to know and on our liberty to exist without fear and securely.

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