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“Things happen.” A mere phrase. That was enough for the US president to effectively dismiss what is probably the most infamous murder of a reporter of the last decade – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his disregard toward the press, for journalism – and for the truth.

Background Details

The American leader’s dismissal of the killing of well-known reporter the Washington Post columnist came during a press conference with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the CIA found in a recent assessment had ordered the abduction and murder of the journalist in 2018. (The crown prince has rejected accusations.)

The US intelligence services were not the sole entities to determine the homicide – which took place in the Saudi diplomatic building in Istanbul and in which the 59-year-old Khashoggi was sedated and cut apart – was approved at the highest levels. An inquiry led by former UN expert, Agnès Callamard, reached comparable findings.

International Response

For a brief period, governments were unified in their condemnation of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The US imposed penalties and travel restrictions in 2021 over the killing, although it refrained of penalizing Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the kingdom 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 strongly criticized the visit. But what was evident at the presidential residence was more alarming than could have been anticipated. Not only did Trump fete the Saudi leader but he seemed to alter history – and then pointed fingers at the deceased. Prince Mohammed, he asserted when asked, knew nothing about the murder – in direct contradiction to what his country’s own intelligence services concluded four years ago. Moreover, Trump said: “A lot of people didn’t like that person that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or didn’t like him, things happen.”

Established Conduct

This represents a new and abject point for a president who has made no attempt to hide of his contempt for the truth – or for the media. Trump has smeared journalists (he called ABC news, whose reporter asked the question about the journalist at the Saudi press conference “false information”), berated them in open settings (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his connection with the disgraced financier the convicted criminal), taken legal action against media organizations for eye-watering sums of money in frivolous cases, and called for news outlets he doesn’t like to lose their licenses.

He has pressured veteran news services out of the White House press pool for refusing to use terminology of his choosing, and he has slashed funding for essential public media at home and crucial free press abroad.

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 murder – becomes not just insignificant (“incidents occur”) but tolerated (“a lot of people disliked that gentleman”).

It is no surprise that 2024 was the most lethal year on record for journalists in the more than 30 years the press freedom organization has been documenting this data: a persistent failure to bring to justice those responsible for reporter murders has established a culture of impunity in which those who murder reporters 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 more than 200 journalists in the past two years.

Societal Impact

The impact on society is deep. Attacks on journalists are assaults on facts. They are attacks on facts. They are attacks on our entitlement to information and on our freedom to exist without fear and securely.

On Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists meets for its annual International Press Freedom awards. The statement there is the identical as my message for Trump: these things may happen. But it is our duty to make sure they cease.