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“Incidents take place.” Just two words. That’s all it took for the US president to effectively dismiss what is probably the most notorious journalist killing of the last decade – 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 dismissive attitude of the murder of prominent journalist the Washington Post columnist came during a media briefing with the Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the CIA concluded in a recent assessment had ordered the kidnap and killing of the journalist in that year. (The crown prince has rejected accusations.)

The American spy agencies were not the sole entities to determine the homicide – which occurred in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and in which the late Khashoggi was sedated and cut apart – was signed off at the highest levels. An inquiry led by former UN expert, Agnès Callamard, reached similar conclusions.

Global Reactions

For a short time, governments were in agreement in their criticism of the kingdom’s conduct. The US imposed sanctions and visa bans in 2021 over the murder, although it refrained of sanctioning 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 final confirmation of that redemption.

Presidential Comments

Critics of the government 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 honor the Saudi leader but he seemed to alter the facts – and then pointed fingers at the victim. Prince Mohammed, he asserted when asked, knew nothing about the killing – in direct contradiction to what his country’s own intelligence services determined previously. Moreover, Trump said: “A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you approve of 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 facts – or for the press. Trump has defamed journalists (he called ABC news, whose reporter asked the question about the journalist at the media event “fake news”), scolded them in public (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his relationship with the convicted sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein), taken legal action against media organizations 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 official briefing group for refusing to use terminology of his preference, and he has slashed financial support for essential public media at domestically and crucial free press abroad.

Wider Consequences

All of that has fostered an environment in which journalists are clearly more vulnerable in the US, but one in which their targeting – and indeed murder – becomes not just insignificant (“things happen”) but acceptable (“many individuals didn’t like that person”).

It is unsurprising that 2024 was the deadliest year on file for journalists in the more than 30 years the press freedom organization has been documenting this data: 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 literally able to escape punishment and so continue to do so.

In no place is this more evident than in Israel, which is accountable for the deaths of over two hundred media workers in the past two years.

Societal Impact

The effect on the public is deep. Targeting reporters are assaults on facts. They are attacks on facts. They are attacks on our entitlement to information and on our liberty to exist without fear and securely.

On Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists meets for its yearly International Press Freedom awards. The statement there is the same as my message for the president: these things may occur. But it is our duty to make sure they do not.