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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 past ten years – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his contempt for the press, for journalism – and for the truth.

Background Details

The American leader’s dismissive attitude of the killing of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi came during a media briefing with the Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the CIA concluded in a 2021 report had ordered the kidnap and killing of the Washington Post columnist in that year. (The crown prince has denied involvement.)

The US intelligence services were not the only ones to determine the homicide – which occurred in the Saudi consulate in Turkey and in which the 59-year-old Khashoggi was sedated and dismembered – was approved at the top echelons. An inquiry led by former UN expert, Agnès Callamard, reached comparable findings.

Global Reactions

For a brief period, governments were in agreement in their condemnation of the kingdom’s conduct. The United States enacted sanctions and travel restrictions in that year over the killing, 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 Washington seemed to be the ultimate sign of that rehabilitation.

Presidential Comments

Opponents of the government had strongly criticized the meeting. But what was evident at the presidential residence was more alarming than could have been anticipated. Not only did Trump fete the Saudi leader but he effectively rewrote the facts – and then blamed the deceased. Prince Mohammed, Trump claimed when asked, was unaware about the murder – in direct contradiction to what his nation’s spy agencies determined previously. Moreover, Trump said: “A lot of people disliked that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or disapproved, things happen.”

Established Conduct

This represents a fresh and shameful low for a leader who has made little secret of his disdain for the facts – or for the media. He has defamed reporters (he called ABC news, whose reporter asked the inquiry about Khashoggi at the Saudi press conference “fake news”), scolded them in open settings (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his relationship with the convicted sex offender financier the convicted criminal), sued news outlets for eye-watering sums of money in vexatious law suits, and called for news outlets he disapproves of 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 home and vital independent media abroad.

Wider Consequences

All of that has created an environment in which reporters are clearly more vulnerable in the United States, but one in which their victimization – and indeed murder – becomes not just insignificant (“incidents occur”) but acceptable (“a lot of people didn’t like that person”).

It is no surprise that that year was the deadliest year on file for the press in the over three decades the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has been documenting this data: a ongoing neglect to bring to justice those responsible for journalist killings has created a culture of impunity in which those who murder reporters are literally able to get away with murder and so continue to do so.

In no place is this clearer than in Israel, which is accountable for the deaths of over two hundred journalists in the recent period.

Societal Impact

The effect on the public is deep. Attacks on journalists are attacks on the truth. They are undermining of reality. They are violations of our entitlement to information and on our freedom to live freely and securely.

On Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists meets for its annual International Press Freedom awards. The statement at the event is the identical as my message for Trump: these things may happen. But it is our duty to make sure they do not.