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“Things happen.” A mere phrase. That’s all it took for Donald Trump to brush off what is probably the most infamous journalist killing of the past ten years – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his contempt for journalists, for journalism – and for the facts.

The Context

The American leader’s dismissive attitude of the killing of prominent journalist the Washington Post columnist came during a media briefing with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the CIA found in a 2021 report had orchestrated the abduction and murder of the Washington Post columnist in 2018. (Prince Mohammed has denied involvement.)

The US intelligence services were not the sole entities to conclude the murder – which occurred in the Saudi consulate in Turkey and in which the late journalist was sedated and dismembered – was signed off at the highest levels. An inquiry led by then UN special rapporteur, the UN investigator, reached comparable findings.

International Response

For a brief period, nations were unified in their criticism of the kingdom’s conduct. The United States enacted penalties and visa bans in that year over the killing, although it refrained of sanctioning Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the nation has been gradually restoring itself – and the leader’s trip to Washington seemed to be the ultimate sign of that rehabilitation.

Presidential Comments

Opponents of the regime had roundly condemned the visit. But what was evident at the White House was worse than could have been anticipated. Not only did Trump honor Prince Mohammed but he effectively rewrote history – and then pointed fingers at the victim. Prince Mohammed, he asserted when asked, was unaware about the killing – in direct contradiction to what his nation’s intelligence services determined previously. Moreover, the president said: “Many individuals didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or disapproved, incidents occur.”

Established Conduct

This marks a fresh and shameful point for a president who has made little secret of his disdain for the facts – or for the media. Trump has defamed reporters (he called ABC news, whose journalist asked the inquiry about Khashoggi at the media event “false information”), scolded them in open settings (he called one a “piggy” this week for asking about his relationship with the convicted sex offender financier the convicted criminal), sued media organizations 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 funding for essential public media at domestically and crucial free press internationally.

Broader Implications

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

It is unsurprising that 2024 was the deadliest year on record for the press in the more than 30 years the press freedom organization has been tracking this information: a ongoing neglect to hold those responsible for journalist killings has established 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 clearer than in Israel, which is accountable for the killing of more than 200 journalists in the past two years.

Effect on Society

The effect on society is deep. Targeting reporters are assaults on facts. They are attacks on facts. They are attacks on our entitlement to information and on our freedom to live freely and safely.

On Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists meets for its yearly International Press Freedom awards. The statement there is the same as my one for Trump: these things may happen. But it is our responsibility to make sure they do not.