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“Stuff occurs.” Just two words. That was enough for the US president to brush off what is probably the most infamous murder of a reporter of the last decade – and in so doing sank to a fresh depth in his contempt for the press, for journalism – and for the truth.

Background Details

The US president’s dismissal of the murder of well-known reporter Jamal Khashoggi came during a press conference with the Saudi crown prince, MBS – a man whom the CIA found in a 2021 report had ordered the kidnap and killing of the journalist in 2018. (Prince Mohammed has denied involvement.)

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 journalist was drugged and dismembered – was approved at the highest levels. An investigation led by former UN expert, the UN investigator, reached comparable findings.

Global Reactions

For a short time, nations were unified in their condemnation of the kingdom’s conduct. The United States imposed sanctions and travel restrictions in 2021 over the killing, although it refrained of sanctioning the crown prince 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.

White House Remarks

Opponents of the government had strongly criticized the meeting. But what was on display at the White House was more alarming than could have been imagined. Not only did Trump fete Prince Mohammed but he effectively rewrote history – and then blamed the victim. The crown prince, Trump asserted when asked, was unaware about the murder – in direct contradiction to what his nation’s intelligence services concluded four years ago. Moreover, the president said: “A lot of people disliked that person that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or disapproved, incidents occur.”

Established Conduct

This marks a fresh and shameful low for a leader who has made little secret of his contempt for the truth – or for the media. Trump has smeared reporters (he called a news network, whose reporter asked the inquiry about the journalist at the media event “fake news”), berated them in public (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his connection 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 be shut down.

He has pressured established media out of the official briefing group for declining to use terminology of his choosing, and he has gutted funding 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 (“many individuals disliked that gentleman”).

It is unsurprising that 2024 was the deadliest year on file for the press in the more than 30 years the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has been documenting this data: a ongoing neglect to bring to justice those responsible for journalist killings has created a culture of impunity in which those who murder reporters are actually able to escape punishment and so persist in these actions.

In no place is this clearer than in the Middle Eastern nation, which is responsible for the deaths of more than 200 media workers in the recent period.

Effect on Society

The impact on the public is deep. Attacks on journalists are attacks on the truth. They are undermining of reality. They are attacks on our rights to know and on our liberty to live freely and safely.

On Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists meets for its annual global journalism honors. The statement there is the identical as my message for Trump: such events may occur. But it is our responsibility to make sure they cease.