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“Incidents take place.” A mere phrase. That’s all it took for Donald Trump to effectively dismiss what is probably the most infamous journalist killing of the past ten years – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his disregard toward the press, for the media – and for the facts.

The Context

The US president’s dismissive attitude of the killing of prominent journalist the Washington Post columnist came during a press conference with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the US intelligence concluded in a recent assessment had ordered the kidnap and killing of the journalist in 2018. (Prince Mohammed has denied involvement.)

The US intelligence services were not the only ones to conclude the homicide – which took place in the Saudi consulate in Turkey and in which the 59-year-old Khashoggi was drugged and cut apart – was approved at the top echelons. An investigation led by former UN expert, Agnès Callamard, reached comparable findings.

International Response

For a brief period, governments were in agreement in their condemnation of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The United States imposed sanctions and visa bans in that year over the murder, although it stopped short of penalizing Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the nation has been gradually restoring itself – and the leader’s trip to the US capital seemed to be the ultimate sign of that redemption.

Presidential Comments

Opponents of the regime 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 the Saudi leader but he effectively rewrote history – and then pointed fingers at the deceased. The crown prince, Trump claimed when asked, was unaware about the killing – in clear opposition to what his country’s own spy agencies concluded previously. Moreover, the president said: “A lot of people disliked that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or disapproved, things happen.”

Established Conduct

This represents a new and abject point for a president who has made little secret of his disdain for the truth – or for the media. Trump has smeared reporters (he called ABC news, whose journalist asked the inquiry about the journalist at the media event “false information”), scolded them in public (he called one a “piggy” this week for asking about his connection with the convicted sex offender 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 pressured established media out of the official briefing group for refusing to use language of his preference, and he has gutted financial support for essential public media at home and crucial free press internationally.

Wider Consequences

All of that has created an environment in which reporters are clearly more vulnerable in the US, 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 file for the press in the over three decades the press freedom organization has been documenting this data: a persistent failure to hold those responsible for reporter murders has created a environment without consequences in which those who murder reporters are actually able to escape punishment and so continue to do so.

In no place is this more evident than in Israel, which is responsible for the deaths of over two hundred journalists in the recent period.

Effect on Society

The impact on society is deep. Targeting reporters are assaults on facts. They are undermining of reality. They are violations of our rights to know and on our liberty to live freely and safely.

This week, CPJ meets for its annual global journalism honors. My message at the event is the identical as my one for Trump: these things may happen. But it is our duty to make sure they cease.