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“Stuff occurs.” A mere phrase. That was enough for Donald Trump to brush off what is probably the most infamous journalist killing of the past ten years – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his contempt for the press, for journalism – and for the truth.

The Context

The US president’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 found in a 2021 report had orchestrated the kidnap and killing of the Washington Post columnist in 2018. (The crown prince has denied involvement.)

The American spy agencies were not the only ones to determine the homicide – which took place in the Saudi diplomatic building in Istanbul and in which the late Khashoggi was drugged and dismembered – was approved at the top echelons. An inquiry led by former UN expert, the UN investigator, reached similar conclusions.

Global Reactions

For a brief period, governments were unified in their condemnation of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The US enacted penalties and travel restrictions in that year over the killing, although it refrained of penalizing the crown prince himself. Since then, the kingdom has been slowly rehabilitating itself – and the leader’s trip to the US capital seemed to be the final confirmation of that redemption.

White House Remarks

Opponents of the regime had strongly criticized the meeting. But what was on display at the presidential residence was more alarming than could have been anticipated. Not only did Trump honor Prince Mohammed but he seemed to alter the facts – 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 country’s own spy agencies determined previously. Moreover, the president said: “Many individuals disliked that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you like him or didn’t like him, incidents occur.”

Pattern of Behavior

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. He has smeared journalists (he called ABC news, whose reporter asked the question about the journalist at the media event “fake news”), scolded them in open settings (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his connection with the convicted sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein), sued media organizations 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 official briefing group for refusing to use terminology of his preference, and he has slashed funding for essential public media at domestically and crucial free press abroad.

Broader Implications

All of that has created an atmosphere in which reporters are manifestly less safe in the United States, but one in which their victimization – and indeed murder – becomes not just unimportant (“incidents occur”) but tolerated (“many individuals disliked that person”).

It is no surprise that 2024 was the most lethal year on record for the press in the more than 30 years the press freedom organization has been documenting this information: a persistent failure to hold those responsible for reporter murders has created a culture of impunity in which journalists’ killers are literally able to get away with murder and so continue to do so.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the Middle Eastern nation, which is responsible for the deaths of over two hundred media workers in the past two years.

Societal Impact

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

This week, CPJ meets for its annual International Press Freedom awards. My message there is the same as my one for Trump: these things may occur. But it is our duty to make sure they cease.