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“Incidents take place.” A mere phrase. That’s all it took for Donald Trump to effectively dismiss what is arguably the most infamous murder of a reporter of the last decade – and in so doing sank to a fresh depth in his disregard toward the press, for journalism – and for the facts.

Background Details

The American leader’s dismissive attitude of the murder of prominent journalist the Washington Post columnist came during a media briefing with the Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the US intelligence found in a recent assessment had ordered the abduction and murder of the Washington Post columnist in 2018. (Prince Mohammed has denied involvement.)

The American spy agencies were not the only ones to conclude the murder – which took place in the Saudi diplomatic building in Istanbul and in which the late Khashoggi was sedated and cut apart – was approved 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 Saudi Arabia’s actions. The United States enacted sanctions and visa bans in that year over the killing, although it stopped short of sanctioning Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the nation has been slowly rehabilitating itself – and the leader’s trip to the US capital seemed to be the final confirmation of that redemption.

Presidential Comments

Critics 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 the president honor the Saudi leader but he seemed to alter the facts – and then blamed the victim. The crown prince, he asserted when asked, was unaware about the murder – in direct contradiction to what his nation’s spy agencies concluded four years ago. 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 marks a new and abject low for a leader who has made little secret of his contempt for the truth – or for the media. Trump has defamed reporters (he called a news network, whose journalist asked the question about the journalist at the Saudi press conference “false information”), berated them in open settings (he called one a “piggy” this week for asking about his relationship with the disgraced financier the convicted criminal), taken legal action against media organizations for eye-watering sums of money in frivolous cases, 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 declining to use terminology of his choosing, and he has gutted financial support for vital news services at home and vital independent media abroad.

Broader Implications

All of that has fostered an environment in which reporters are clearly more vulnerable in the US, but one in which their targeting – and indeed murder – becomes not just insignificant (“things happen”) but tolerated (“a lot of people 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 data: a persistent failure to hold those responsible for reporter murders has established a environment without consequences in which journalists’ killers are literally able to escape punishment and so continue to do so.

Nowhere is this more evident than in Israel, which is responsible for the deaths of over two hundred journalists in the past two years.

Societal Impact

The effect on the public is profound. Targeting reporters are attacks on the truth. They are undermining of reality. They are attacks on our rights to know and on our freedom to live freely and safely.

On Thursday, CPJ meets for its annual International Press Freedom awards. The statement at the event is the identical as my message for the president: such events may happen. But it is our duty to make sure they do not.