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“Things happen.” A mere phrase. That’s all it took for Donald Trump to effectively dismiss what is arguably the most infamous journalist killing of the past ten years – and in so doing sank to a fresh depth in his disregard toward the press, for the media – and for the truth.

The Context

The US president’s dismissive attitude of the murder of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi came during a media briefing with the Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the CIA concluded in a 2021 report had orchestrated the abduction and murder of the Washington Post columnist in that year. (Prince Mohammed has denied involvement.)

The American spy agencies were not the only ones to determine the homicide – which occurred in the Saudi diplomatic building in Turkey and in which the 59-year-old journalist was drugged and cut apart – was approved at the top echelons. An inquiry led by then UN special rapporteur, the UN investigator, reached comparable findings.

Global Reactions

For a brief period, governments were unified in their condemnation of the kingdom’s conduct. The United States imposed penalties and travel restrictions in 2021 over the murder, although it stopped short of penalizing Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the kingdom has been gradually restoring itself – and the crown prince’s visit to Washington seemed to be the final confirmation of that rehabilitation.

Presidential Comments

Critics of the regime had strongly criticized the meeting. But what was evident at the presidential residence was more alarming than could have been anticipated. Not only did Trump fete the Saudi leader but he effectively rewrote history – and then pointed fingers at the victim. The crown prince, he asserted when asked, was unaware about the killing – in direct contradiction to what his country’s own intelligence services concluded four years ago. Moreover, Trump said: “A lot of people 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 no attempt to hide of his contempt for the truth – or for the media. He has defamed journalists (he called ABC news, whose journalist asked the inquiry about Khashoggi at the Saudi press conference “false information”), scolded them in public (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his connection with the convicted sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein), sued news outlets for eye-watering sums 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 official briefing group for refusing to use terminology of his preference, and he has gutted funding for vital news services at domestically and vital independent media internationally.

Wider Consequences

All of that has created an atmosphere in which journalists are manifestly less safe in the United States, but one in which their victimization – and indeed killing – becomes not just unimportant (“things happen”) but tolerated (“many individuals didn’t like that person”).

It is no surprise that that year was the deadliest year on record for the press in the over three decades the press freedom organization has been documenting this data: a persistent failure to hold those accountable for journalist killings has established 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 clearer than in Israel, which is accountable for the killing of more than 200 journalists in the recent period.

Effect on Society

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

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