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“Things happen.” Just two words. That’s all it took for Donald Trump to brush off what is probably the most notorious journalist killing of the last decade – and in so doing sank to a fresh depth in his contempt for journalists, for journalism – and for the facts.

Background Details

The American leader’s dismissive attitude of the murder of prominent journalist the Washington Post columnist came during a media briefing with the Saudi crown prince, MBS – a man whom the US intelligence concluded in a recent assessment had ordered the kidnap and killing of the Washington Post columnist in 2018. (The crown prince has denied involvement.)

The American spy agencies were not the sole entities to conclude the murder – which took place in the Saudi diplomatic building in Istanbul and in which the late journalist was sedated and dismembered – was approved at the top echelons. An inquiry led by then UN special rapporteur, Agnès Callamard, reached comparable findings.

International Response

For a brief period, nations were in agreement in their condemnation of the kingdom’s conduct. The US enacted sanctions and visa bans in 2021 over the killing, although it stopped short of sanctioning the crown prince himself. Since then, the nation has been gradually restoring itself – and the leader’s trip to the US capital seemed to be the final confirmation of that rehabilitation.

White House Remarks

Critics of the government had strongly criticized the meeting. But what was on display at the White House was more alarming than could have been anticipated. Not only did the president fete Prince Mohammed but he effectively rewrote history – and then blamed the deceased. Prince Mohammed, Trump claimed when asked, knew nothing about the killing – in clear opposition to what his nation’s spy agencies determined four years ago. Moreover, the president said: “A lot of people didn’t like that person that you’re talking about, whether you like him or didn’t like him, incidents occur.”

Established Conduct

This represents a fresh and shameful point for a leader who has made no attempt to hide of his disdain for the facts – or for the media. He has defamed journalists (he called a news network, whose reporter asked the inquiry about Khashoggi at the media event “fake news”), scolded them in public (he called one a “piggy” this week for asking about his relationship with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein), sued news outlets for eye-watering sums of money in vexatious law suits, and called for media groups he doesn’t like to lose their licenses.

He has pressured veteran news services out of the official briefing group for declining to use language of his choosing, and he has gutted financial support for vital news services at home and vital independent media internationally.

Broader Implications

All of that has created an environment in which reporters are clearly more vulnerable in the United States, but one in which their victimization – and indeed killing – becomes not just insignificant (“incidents occur”) but acceptable (“many individuals didn’t like that gentleman”).

It is unsurprising that 2024 was the deadliest year on file for journalists in the more than 30 years the press freedom organization has been documenting this information: a ongoing neglect to bring to justice those responsible for reporter murders has created 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 more evident than in Israel, which is accountable for the killing of over two hundred journalists in the past two years.

Societal Impact

The effect on the public is profound. Targeting reporters are attacks on the truth. They are undermining of reality. They are attacks on our entitlement to information and on our liberty to live freely and securely.

On Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists meets for its annual global journalism honors. My message at the event is the same as my message for the president: these things may happen. But it is our responsibility to make sure they cease.