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“Incidents take place.” A mere phrase. That was enough 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 plumbed a new low in his disregard toward journalists, for the media – and for the truth.

Background Details

The US president’s dismissive attitude of the murder of well-known reporter Jamal Khashoggi came during a media briefing with the Saudi leader, MBS – a man whom the CIA found in a recent assessment had orchestrated the kidnap and killing of the Washington Post columnist in 2018. (Prince Mohammed has rejected accusations.)

The American spy agencies were not the sole entities to conclude the homicide – which took place in the Saudi diplomatic building in Istanbul and in which the late Khashoggi was sedated and dismembered – was signed off at the top echelons. An inquiry led by then UN special rapporteur, the UN investigator, reached similar conclusions.

International Response

For a brief period, governments were in agreement in their criticism of the kingdom’s conduct. The US enacted sanctions and visa bans in that year over the killing, although it refrained of sanctioning Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the kingdom has been gradually restoring itself – and the crown prince’s visit to the US capital seemed to be the ultimate sign of that redemption.

Presidential Comments

Opponents of the government had strongly criticized the visit. But what was on display at the White House was more alarming than could have been anticipated. Not only did Trump fete Prince Mohammed but he seemed to alter the facts – and then pointed fingers at the deceased. Prince Mohammed, Trump claimed when asked, knew nothing about the killing – in direct contradiction to what his nation’s spy agencies concluded four years ago. Moreover, Trump said: “Many individuals didn’t like that person that you’re talking about, whether you like him or disapproved, incidents occur.”

Established Conduct

This marks a new and abject point for a leader who has made little secret of his disdain for the facts – or for the press. He has smeared reporters (he called a news network, whose journalist asked the inquiry about Khashoggi at the media event “fake news”), berated them in open settings (he called one a “piggy” 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 frivolous cases, and called for media groups he doesn’t like to lose their licenses.

He has pressured established media out of the White House press pool for refusing to use language of his choosing, and he has gutted financial support for essential public media at home 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 killing – becomes not just insignificant (“things happen”) but acceptable (“a lot of people disliked that gentleman”).

It is unsurprising that 2024 was the most lethal year on file for journalists in the more than 30 years the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has been documenting this data: a ongoing neglect to hold those responsible for reporter murders has created a culture of impunity in which those who murder reporters are literally able to escape punishment and so persist in these actions.

Nowhere is this more evident than in Israel, which is responsible for the killing of more than 200 journalists in the recent period.

Effect on Society

The impact on society is deep. Targeting reporters are assaults on facts. They are undermining of reality. They are attacks on our rights to know and on our liberty to exist without fear and safely.

On Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists meets for its yearly global journalism honors. The statement at the event is the identical as my one for Trump: such events may happen. But it is our duty to make sure they do not.