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“Things happen.” A mere phrase. That was enough for the US president to brush off what is arguably the most notorious murder of a reporter 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 US president’s dismissive attitude of the killing of prominent journalist the Washington Post columnist came during a press conference with the Saudi leader, MBS – a man whom the CIA found in a recent assessment had ordered the kidnap and killing of the Washington Post columnist in that year. (The crown prince has rejected accusations.)

The American spy agencies were not the only ones to determine the homicide – which occurred in the Saudi diplomatic building in Turkey and in which the 59-year-old Khashoggi was sedated and dismembered – was signed off at the top echelons. An investigation led by former UN expert, the UN investigator, reached similar conclusions.

Global Reactions

For a brief period, nations were unified in their condemnation of the kingdom’s conduct. The United States enacted sanctions and visa bans in that year over the murder, although it refrained of sanctioning the crown prince himself. Since then, the nation has been slowly rehabilitating itself – and the crown prince’s visit to Washington seemed to be the final confirmation of that rehabilitation.

Presidential Comments

Critics of the regime had strongly criticized the visit. But what was on display at the presidential residence was more alarming than could have been anticipated. Not only did the president honor Prince Mohammed but he seemed to alter the facts – and then blamed the deceased. Prince Mohammed, he asserted when asked, was unaware about the killing – in clear opposition to what his nation’s intelligence services concluded previously. Moreover, Trump said: “Many individuals disliked that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or disapproved, incidents occur.”

Established Conduct

This marks a fresh and shameful low for a leader who has made little secret of his contempt for the facts – or for the media. He has defamed journalists (he called a news network, whose journalist asked the question about Khashoggi at the media event “false information”), berated them in open settings (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his connection with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein), taken legal action against news outlets for large amounts of money in vexatious law suits, and called for news outlets he doesn’t like to be shut down.

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

Broader Implications

All of that has created an atmosphere in which journalists are clearly more vulnerable in the United States, but one in which their victimization – and indeed murder – becomes not just insignificant (“things happen”) but acceptable (“a lot of people disliked that gentleman”).

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 tracking this data: a persistent failure to bring to justice those responsible for journalist killings has established a environment without consequences in which journalists’ killers are literally able to get away with murder 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 journalists in the past two years.

Effect on Society

The effect on the public is profound. Attacks on journalists are assaults on facts. They are undermining of reality. They are violations of our rights to know and on our liberty to live freely and safely.

On Thursday, CPJ meets for its annual International Press Freedom awards. My message at the event is the identical as my one for the president: such events may happen. But it is our duty to make sure they cease.