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“Incidents take place.” Just two words. That was enough for Donald Trump to brush off what is arguably the most infamous murder of a reporter of the past ten years – and in so doing sank to a fresh depth in his disregard toward the press, for the media – and for the truth.

The Context

The American leader’s dismissive attitude of the murder of prominent journalist the Washington Post columnist came during a press conference with the Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the CIA found in a 2021 report had ordered the kidnap and killing of the Washington Post columnist in 2018. (Prince Mohammed has rejected accusations.)

The US intelligence services were not the sole entities to determine the homicide – which took place in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and in which the 59-year-old Khashoggi was drugged and dismembered – was approved at the top echelons. An inquiry led by then UN special rapporteur, the UN investigator, reached comparable findings.

Global Reactions

For a brief period, governments were in agreement in their condemnation of the kingdom’s conduct. The US enacted sanctions and travel restrictions in that year over the killing, although it stopped short of penalizing Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the nation has been gradually restoring itself – and the crown prince’s visit to Washington seemed to be the final confirmation of that rehabilitation.

Presidential Comments

Critics of the regime had strongly criticized the visit. But what was on display at the White House was worse than could have been anticipated. Not only did Trump honor the Saudi leader but he effectively rewrote history – and then pointed fingers at the victim. The crown prince, Trump asserted when asked, was unaware about the murder – in direct contradiction to what his country’s own intelligence services determined previously. Moreover, Trump said: “Many individuals disliked that person that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or disapproved, incidents occur.”

Pattern of Behavior

This marks a new and abject point for a president who has made no attempt to hide of his disdain for the truth – or for the press. Trump has smeared journalists (he called ABC news, whose reporter asked the question about Khashoggi at the Saudi press conference “false information”), scolded them in public (he called one a “piggy” this week for asking about his connection with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein), sued media organizations for eye-watering sums of money in frivolous cases, and called for news outlets he doesn’t like to be shut down.

He has forced established media out of the official briefing group for refusing to use language of his preference, and he has slashed funding for vital news services at domestically and vital independent media internationally.

Wider Consequences

All of that has fostered an atmosphere in which reporters are clearly more vulnerable in the United States, but one in which their victimization – and indeed killing – becomes not just unimportant (“things happen”) but tolerated (“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 press freedom organization has been tracking this data: a ongoing neglect to bring to justice those responsible for journalist killings has established a environment without consequences in which those who murder reporters are literally able to get away with murder and so persist in these actions.

In no place is this clearer than in the Middle Eastern nation, which is accountable for the deaths of over two hundred media workers in the past two years.

Effect on Society

The impact on society is profound. Targeting reporters are attacks on the truth. They are attacks on facts. They are violations of our rights to know and on our freedom to live freely and safely.

On Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists meets for its yearly International Press Freedom awards. The statement there is the identical as my message for the president: such events may happen. But it is our responsibility to make sure they cease.