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“Incidents take place.” A mere phrase. That’s all it took for Donald Trump to effectively dismiss what is probably the most notorious journalist killing of the past ten years – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his contempt for the press, for the media – and for the facts.

Background Details

The American leader’s dismissal of the murder of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi came during a media briefing with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the CIA concluded in a recent assessment had orchestrated 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 homicide – which took place in the Saudi consulate in Turkey and in which the late journalist was sedated and dismembered – was signed off at the top echelons. An inquiry led by then UN special rapporteur, the UN investigator, reached similar conclusions.

Global Reactions

For a brief period, governments were unified in their criticism of the kingdom’s conduct. The US imposed penalties and travel restrictions in 2021 over the killing, although it stopped short of penalizing Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the nation has been gradually restoring itself – and the leader’s trip to Washington seemed to be the final confirmation of that redemption.

Presidential Comments

Critics of the regime had roundly condemned the visit. But what was on display at the presidential residence was more alarming than could have been imagined. Not only did Trump honor the Saudi leader but he effectively rewrote the facts – and then blamed the deceased. Prince Mohammed, he claimed when asked, knew nothing about the murder – in clear opposition to what his nation’s spy agencies concluded four years ago. Moreover, the president said: “Many individuals disliked that person that you’re talking about, whether you like him or disapproved, things happen.”

Pattern of Behavior

This represents a fresh and shameful point for a president who has made no attempt to hide of his disdain for the facts – or for the media. He has smeared journalists (he called a news network, whose journalist asked the inquiry about Khashoggi at the Saudi press conference “fake news”), scolded 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), taken legal action against news outlets for eye-watering sums of money in vexatious law suits, and called for media groups he doesn’t like to be shut down.

He has pressured established media out of the White House press pool for declining to use language of his choosing, and he has gutted funding for vital news services at domestically and crucial free press abroad.

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 victimization – and indeed murder – becomes not just unimportant (“things happen”) but tolerated (“many individuals disliked that person”).

It is no surprise that that year was the deadliest year on record for journalists in the over three decades the press freedom organization has been documenting this information: a ongoing neglect to hold those responsible for reporter murders has established a culture of impunity in which journalists’ killers are literally able to get away with murder and so continue to do so.

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

Societal Impact

The impact on the public is profound. Attacks on journalists 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 yearly global journalism honors. The statement there is the identical as my message for Trump: these things may occur. But it is our duty to make sure they do not.