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“Things happen.” Just two words. That’s all it took for Donald Trump to effectively dismiss what is arguably the most infamous journalist killing of the last decade – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his disregard toward the press, for journalism – and for the truth.

The Context

The US president’s dismissal of the killing of well-known reporter the Washington Post columnist came during a press conference with the Saudi crown prince, MBS – a man whom the US intelligence found in a 2021 report had ordered the abduction and murder of the journalist in 2018. (Prince Mohammed has rejected accusations.)

The American spy agencies were not the sole entities to conclude the homicide – which occurred in the Saudi consulate in Turkey and in which the 59-year-old Khashoggi was sedated and cut apart – was signed off at the top echelons. An inquiry led by then UN special rapporteur, Agnès Callamard, reached similar conclusions.

International Response

For a short time, nations were in agreement in their criticism of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The US enacted penalties and visa bans in that year over the murder, although it stopped short of penalizing the crown prince himself. Since then, the kingdom has been slowly rehabilitating itself – and the leader’s trip to Washington seemed to be the final confirmation of that rehabilitation.

White House Remarks

Opponents of the government had strongly criticized the meeting. But what was on display at the White House was worse than could have been imagined. Not only did the president fete the Saudi leader but he effectively rewrote history – and then blamed the victim. The crown prince, Trump claimed when asked, knew nothing about the killing – in direct contradiction to what his nation’s spy agencies determined previously. Moreover, the president said: “A lot of people didn’t like that person that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or disapproved, things happen.”

Pattern of Behavior

This represents a fresh and shameful low for a leader who has made no attempt to hide of his disdain for the facts – or for the press. He has defamed reporters (he called a news network, whose reporter asked the inquiry about Khashoggi at the media event “fake news”), scolded them in open settings (he called one a “piggy” this week for asking about his connection with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein), taken legal action against news outlets for large amounts of money in frivolous cases, and called for news outlets he disapproves of to lose their licenses.

He has pressured veteran news services out of the White House press pool for refusing to use terminology of his preference, and he has slashed financial support for vital news services at home and vital independent media internationally.

Broader Implications

All of that has fostered an atmosphere in which reporters are clearly more vulnerable in the United States, but one in which their targeting – and indeed murder – becomes not just unimportant (“incidents occur”) but acceptable (“many individuals disliked that person”).

It is unsurprising that 2024 was the most lethal year on file for journalists in the over three decades the press freedom organization has been tracking this information: a ongoing neglect to hold those responsible for reporter murders has created a culture of impunity in which those who murder reporters are actually able to escape punishment and so persist in these actions.

Nowhere is this more evident than in Israel, which is accountable for the killing of more than 200 media workers in the past two years.

Societal Impact

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 exist without fear and securely.

This week, CPJ gathers for its yearly International Press Freedom awards. The statement at the event is the same as my message for Trump: such events may occur. But it is our responsibility to make sure they do not.