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“Stuff occurs.” Just two words. That was enough for Donald Trump to effectively dismiss what is arguably the most notorious journalist killing of the last decade – and in so doing sank to a fresh depth in his disregard toward the press, for the media – and for the facts.

The Context

The US president’s dismissal of the murder of well-known reporter Jamal Khashoggi came during a press conference with the Saudi crown prince, MBS – a man whom the CIA concluded in a 2021 report had orchestrated the kidnap and killing of the Washington Post columnist in 2018. (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 59-year-old journalist was drugged and cut apart – was approved at the top echelons. An inquiry led by then UN special rapporteur, the UN investigator, reached similar conclusions.

Global Reactions

For a brief period, governments were in agreement in their condemnation of the kingdom’s conduct. The United States enacted penalties and visa bans in 2021 over the killing, although it refrained of penalizing the crown prince himself. Since then, the nation has been slowly rehabilitating itself – and the crown prince’s visit to the US capital seemed to be the final confirmation of that redemption.

White House Remarks

Critics of the regime had roundly condemned the meeting. But what was evident at the presidential residence was worse than could have been anticipated. Not only did Trump honor Prince Mohammed but he seemed to alter history – and then pointed fingers at the deceased. Prince Mohammed, he asserted when asked, knew nothing about the murder – in clear opposition to what his nation’s spy agencies concluded four years ago. Moreover, Trump said: “Many individuals didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or disapproved, things happen.”

Established Conduct

This marks a new and abject point for a president who has made no attempt to hide of his contempt for the facts – or for the media. Trump has defamed journalists (he called a news network, whose journalist asked the inquiry about the journalist at the Saudi press conference “false information”), scolded 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 large amounts 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 official briefing group for refusing to use terminology of his preference, and he has gutted financial support for vital news services at home and vital independent media abroad.

Wider Consequences

All of that has created an atmosphere in which journalists are clearly more vulnerable in the US, but one in which their victimization – and indeed murder – becomes not just unimportant (“incidents occur”) but tolerated (“a lot of people disliked that person”).

It is unsurprising that 2024 was the deadliest year on record for the press in the over three decades the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has been tracking this information: a ongoing neglect to hold those accountable for journalist killings has created a environment without consequences in which those who murder reporters are actually 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.

Societal Impact

The effect on society is deep. Attacks on journalists are attacks on the truth. They are undermining of reality. They are violations of our rights to know and on our liberty to exist without fear and securely.

On Thursday, CPJ gathers for its yearly global journalism honors. The statement at the event is the identical as my one for the president: these things may happen. But it is our duty to make sure they cease.