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“Things happen.” A mere phrase. That’s all it took for Donald Trump to brush off what is probably the most notorious murder of a reporter of the past ten years – and in so doing sank to a fresh depth in his contempt for the press, for journalism – and for the truth.

The Context

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

The US intelligence services were not the only ones to determine the homicide – which occurred in the Saudi diplomatic building in Turkey and in which the 59-year-old Khashoggi was sedated and cut apart – was signed off at the top echelons. An inquiry led by former UN expert, the UN investigator, reached comparable findings.

International Response

For a brief period, nations were unified in their criticism of the kingdom’s conduct. The United States imposed penalties and travel restrictions in that year over the killing, although it refrained of sanctioning the crown prince himself. Since then, the kingdom has been gradually restoring itself – and the leader’s trip to the US capital seemed to be the final confirmation of that redemption.

Presidential Comments

Opponents of the government had strongly criticized the visit. But what was on display at the presidential residence was worse than could have been imagined. Not only did the president fete the Saudi leader but he effectively rewrote the facts – and then pointed fingers at the victim. The crown prince, Trump asserted when asked, was unaware about the murder – in clear opposition to what his country’s own intelligence services determined previously. Moreover, the president said: “Many individuals disliked that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you like him or disapproved, things happen.”

Pattern of Behavior

This marks a new and abject point for a leader who has made little secret of his disdain for the truth – or for the press. Trump has smeared journalists (he called a news network, whose journalist asked the question about the journalist at the media event “fake news”), scolded them in public (he called one a “piggy” this week for asking about his relationship with the disgraced financier the convicted criminal), taken legal action against news outlets for eye-watering sums of money in frivolous cases, and called for news outlets he disapproves of to lose their licenses.

He has forced veteran news services out of the official briefing group for declining to use terminology of his preference, and he has slashed financial support for essential public media at home and crucial free press internationally.

Broader Implications

All of that has fostered an environment in which journalists are manifestly less safe in the United States, but one in which their targeting – and indeed murder – becomes not just unimportant (“things happen”) but acceptable (“a lot of people didn’t like that person”).

It is no surprise 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 tracking this information: a persistent failure to hold those responsible for journalist killings has created a culture of impunity in which journalists’ killers are actually able to escape punishment and so persist in these actions.

Nowhere is this clearer than in the Middle Eastern nation, which is responsible for the killing of more than 200 media workers in the recent period.

Societal Impact

The effect on the public is profound. Attacks on journalists are assaults on facts. They are attacks on facts. They are violations of our entitlement to information and on our liberty to live freely and safely.

This week, CPJ gathers for its annual International Press Freedom awards. The statement there is the same as my one for the president: such events may happen. But it is our duty to make sure they cease.