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“Stuff occurs.” Just two words. That was enough for Donald Trump to brush off what is probably the most notorious journalist killing of the last decade – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his disregard toward the press, for the media – and for the facts.

Background Details

The US president’s dismissal of the killing of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi came during a press conference with the Saudi crown prince, MBS – a man whom the US intelligence concluded in a 2021 report had orchestrated the abduction and murder of the journalist in that year. (Prince Mohammed has rejected accusations.)

The American spy agencies were not the sole entities to determine the homicide – which took place in the Saudi diplomatic building in Turkey and in which the late journalist was sedated and cut apart – was approved at the highest levels. An inquiry led by former UN expert, the UN investigator, reached comparable findings.

Global Reactions

For a brief period, governments were unified in their condemnation of the kingdom’s conduct. The US imposed penalties and visa bans in that year over the killing, although it stopped short of sanctioning Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the kingdom has been slowly rehabilitating itself – and the crown prince’s visit to the US capital seemed to be the ultimate sign of that redemption.

White House Remarks

Critics of the government had strongly criticized the meeting. But what was on display at the presidential residence was more alarming than could have been anticipated. Not only did Trump fete the Saudi leader but he effectively rewrote the facts – and then pointed fingers at the victim. The crown prince, Trump asserted 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 didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or didn’t like him, things happen.”

Established Conduct

This marks a new and abject point for a leader who has made no attempt to hide of his contempt for the facts – or for the press. He has smeared reporters (he called ABC news, whose journalist asked the inquiry about the journalist at the media event “fake news”), scolded them in public (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 media groups he doesn’t like to be shut down.

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 financial support for vital news services at home and crucial free press abroad.

Broader Implications

All of that has created an environment in which journalists are clearly more vulnerable in the United States, but one in which their targeting – and indeed murder – becomes not just insignificant (“things happen”) but tolerated (“a lot of people didn’t like that person”).

It is unsurprising that 2024 was the deadliest year on record for journalists in the over three decades the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has been tracking this data: a ongoing neglect to bring to justice those accountable for reporter murders has created a environment without consequences in which those who murder reporters are actually able to get away with murder and so persist in these actions.

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

Effect on Society

The impact on the public is deep. Targeting reporters are attacks on the truth. They are undermining of reality. They are attacks on our entitlement to information and on our freedom to exist without fear and securely.

This week, CPJ gathers for its yearly International Press Freedom awards. The statement there is the identical as my one for the president: these things may happen. But it is our responsibility to make sure they cease.