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“Things happen.” A mere phrase. That’s all it took for the US president to brush off what is arguably the most notorious murder of a reporter of the last decade – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his contempt for the press, for journalism – and for the facts.

Background Details

The US president’s dismissal of the murder of prominent journalist the Washington Post columnist came during a media briefing with the Saudi leader, MBS – a man whom the CIA concluded in a recent assessment had orchestrated the kidnap and killing of the Washington Post columnist in that year. (The crown prince has denied involvement.)

The US intelligence services were not the only ones to determine the murder – which occurred in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and in which the late journalist was drugged and dismembered – was approved at the top echelons. An investigation led by former UN expert, Agnès Callamard, reached similar conclusions.

International Response

For a short time, governments were unified in their criticism of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The US imposed penalties and travel restrictions in 2021 over the murder, although it refrained of penalizing the crown prince himself. Since then, the kingdom has been gradually restoring 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 roundly condemned the meeting. But what was on display at the presidential residence was worse than could have been anticipated. Not only did Trump honor Prince Mohammed but he effectively rewrote history – and then blamed the deceased. Prince Mohammed, Trump asserted when asked, was unaware about the killing – in direct contradiction to what his nation’s spy agencies determined previously. Moreover, the president said: “Many individuals disliked that person that you’re talking about, whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen.”

Established Conduct

This represents a new and abject low for a president who has made little secret of his contempt for the truth – or for the press. Trump has defamed journalists (he called ABC news, whose reporter asked the inquiry about Khashoggi at the Saudi press conference “fake news”), berated 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 vexatious law suits, and called for news outlets he doesn’t like to lose their licenses.

He has pressured established media out of the White House press pool for refusing to use language of his preference, and he has slashed funding for essential public media at domestically and crucial free press abroad.

Wider Consequences

All of that has created an atmosphere in which reporters are clearly more vulnerable in the US, but one in which their targeting – and indeed murder – becomes not just unimportant (“things happen”) but tolerated (“a lot of people disliked that person”).

It is no surprise that 2024 was the deadliest year on file for journalists in the over three decades the press freedom organization has been documenting this data: a ongoing neglect to hold those responsible for reporter murders has established a culture of impunity in which journalists’ killers are literally able to escape punishment and so persist in these actions.

In no place is this clearer than in Israel, which is accountable for the deaths of more than 200 media workers in the past two years.

Effect on Society

The effect on the public is deep. Attacks on journalists are assaults on facts. They are undermining of reality. They are attacks on our rights to know and on our liberty to exist without fear and securely.

On Thursday, CPJ gathers for its annual global journalism honors. The statement there is the identical as my message for Trump: such events may happen. But it is our duty to make sure they do not.