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“Things happen.” A mere phrase. That was enough for Donald Trump to effectively dismiss what is arguably the most infamous journalist killing of the last decade – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his contempt for journalists, for the media – and for the facts.

The Context

The US president’s dismissal of the murder of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi came during a press conference with the Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the US intelligence found in a 2021 report had orchestrated the kidnap and killing of the journalist in that year. (The crown prince has denied involvement.)

The US intelligence services were not the only ones to conclude the murder – which occurred in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and in which the late journalist was drugged and cut apart – was signed off at the highest levels. An inquiry led by then UN special rapporteur, Agnès Callamard, reached comparable findings.

Global Reactions

For a short time, nations were unified in their condemnation of the kingdom’s conduct. The US 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 gradually restoring itself – and the crown prince’s visit to the US capital seemed to be the ultimate sign of that rehabilitation.

Presidential Comments

Opponents of the regime had roundly condemned the meeting. But what was evident at the presidential residence was worse than could have been imagined. Not only did Trump honor Prince Mohammed but he seemed to alter history – and then pointed fingers at the victim. The crown prince, Trump claimed when asked, was unaware about the murder – in direct contradiction to what his nation’s spy agencies concluded previously. Moreover, the president said: “A lot of people disliked that person that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or disapproved, things happen.”

Pattern of Behavior

This marks a fresh and shameful low for a president who has made no attempt to hide of his contempt for the facts – or for the media. Trump has smeared reporters (he called a news network, whose reporter asked the inquiry about the journalist at the Saudi press conference “fake news”), berated them in public (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his connection with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein), sued news outlets for eye-watering sums of money in vexatious law suits, and called for media groups he disapproves of to lose their licenses.

He has pressured veteran news services out of the White House press pool for declining to use language of his choosing, and he has gutted financial support for essential public media at domestically and crucial free press 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 killing – becomes not just insignificant (“incidents occur”) but acceptable (“many individuals didn’t like that gentleman”).

It is unsurprising that 2024 was the deadliest year on file for the press in the more than 30 years the press freedom organization has been tracking this information: a persistent failure to bring to justice those accountable for journalist killings has created a environment without consequences in which those who murder reporters are actually able to escape punishment and so persist in these actions.

In no place is this more evident than in the Middle Eastern nation, which is responsible for the killing of over two hundred journalists in the recent period.

Effect on Society

The impact on the public is profound. Targeting reporters are attacks on the truth. They are attacks on facts. They are attacks on our entitlement to information and on our liberty to live freely and safely.

On Thursday, CPJ gathers for its annual global journalism honors. My message there is the same as my one for the president: these things may happen. But it is our duty to make sure they cease.