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“Stuff occurs.” A mere phrase. That was enough for Donald Trump to effectively dismiss what is arguably the most infamous journalist killing of the past ten years – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his disregard toward journalists, for journalism – and for the truth.

The Context

The US president’s dismissive attitude of the murder of well-known reporter 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 ordered the kidnap and killing of the Washington Post columnist in 2018. (The crown prince has denied involvement.)

The US intelligence services were not the sole entities to conclude the murder – which took place in the Saudi diplomatic building in Turkey and in which the 59-year-old Khashoggi was sedated and cut apart – was approved at the highest levels. An inquiry led by former UN expert, the UN investigator, reached similar conclusions.

International Response

For a short time, governments were in agreement in their criticism of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The US enacted penalties and travel restrictions in 2021 over the murder, although it stopped short of penalizing the crown prince himself. Since then, the kingdom has been gradually restoring itself – and the leader’s trip to Washington seemed to be the final confirmation of that rehabilitation.

White House Remarks

Critics of the regime had roundly condemned the visit. But what was evident at the presidential residence was worse than could have been imagined. Not only did the president fete the Saudi leader but he seemed to alter the facts – and then pointed fingers at the deceased. Prince Mohammed, Trump asserted when asked, knew nothing about the murder – in clear opposition to what his nation’s intelligence services concluded four years ago. Moreover, Trump said: “A lot of people disliked that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or didn’t like him, incidents occur.”

Established Conduct

This marks a new and abject point for a leader who has made no attempt to hide of his disdain for the truth – or for the press. He has smeared reporters (he called ABC news, whose reporter asked the inquiry about Khashoggi at the media event “fake news”), berated them in open settings (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his relationship with the disgraced financier the convicted criminal), sued media organizations for large amounts of money in vexatious law suits, and called for news outlets he disapproves of to be shut down.

He has forced established media out of the official briefing group for refusing to use terminology of his preference, and he has gutted funding for essential public media at home and vital independent media abroad.

Broader Implications

All of that has created an atmosphere in which journalists 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 disliked that gentleman”).

It is no surprise that 2024 was the most lethal year on record for the press in the more than 30 years the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has been documenting this information: a persistent failure to bring to justice those accountable for reporter murders has established a environment without consequences in which journalists’ killers are literally able to get away with murder and so continue to do so.

In no place is this clearer than in the Middle Eastern nation, which is accountable for the deaths of more than 200 media workers in the recent period.

Societal Impact

The impact on society is deep. Attacks on journalists are assaults on facts. They are attacks on facts. They are attacks on our rights to know and on our liberty to exist without fear and securely.

This week, CPJ meets for its yearly global journalism honors. The statement there is the same as my one for the president: these things may occur. But it is our responsibility to make sure they cease.