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“Stuff occurs.” 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 sank to a fresh depth in his disregard toward journalists, for the media – and for the facts.

The Context

The American leader’s dismissive attitude of the killing of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi came during a press conference with the Saudi leader, MBS – a man whom the CIA found in a 2021 report had orchestrated the kidnap and killing of the journalist in that year. (Prince Mohammed has denied involvement.)

The American spy agencies were not the only ones to determine the murder – which occurred in the Saudi diplomatic building in Turkey and in which the late Khashoggi was drugged and cut apart – was approved at the highest levels. An investigation led by former UN expert, the UN investigator, reached similar conclusions.

International Response

For a short time, nations were unified in their criticism of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The US enacted penalties and visa bans in that year over the murder, although it stopped short of sanctioning the crown prince himself. Since then, the kingdom has been gradually restoring itself – and the leader’s trip to the US capital seemed to be the final confirmation of that redemption.

Presidential Comments

Critics 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 Trump honor Prince Mohammed but he seemed to alter the facts – and then blamed the deceased. The crown prince, he asserted when asked, was unaware about the killing – in direct contradiction to what his nation’s intelligence services concluded four years ago. Moreover, the president said: “Many individuals didn’t like that person that you’re talking about, whether you like him or disapproved, things happen.”

Pattern of Behavior

This marks a new and abject low for a president who has made little secret of his disdain for the facts – or for the press. He has defamed reporters (he called a news network, whose journalist asked the inquiry about the journalist at the media event “fake news”), berated them in public (he called one a “piggy” this week for asking about his connection with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein), taken legal action against media organizations for large amounts of money in vexatious law suits, and called for news outlets he doesn’t like to lose their licenses.

He has pressured veteran news services 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 vital independent media abroad.

Broader Implications

All of that has created an atmosphere in which reporters are manifestly less safe in the US, but one in which their targeting – and indeed killing – becomes not just insignificant (“things happen”) but acceptable (“a lot of people didn’t like that person”).

It is no surprise that 2024 was the most lethal year on record for journalists in the over three decades the press freedom organization has been tracking this data: a ongoing neglect to bring to justice those accountable for reporter murders has created a culture of impunity in which journalists’ killers are actually able to escape punishment 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 media workers in the recent period.

Societal Impact

The impact on society is profound. Targeting reporters are attacks on the truth. They are attacks on facts. They are violations of our rights to know and on our freedom to exist without fear and safely.

On Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists gathers for its annual global journalism honors. The statement at the event is the same as my message for the president: these things may occur. But it is our responsibility to make sure they do not.