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“Stuff occurs.” Just two words. That’s all it took for the US president to effectively dismiss what is probably the most infamous journalist killing of the last decade – and in so doing sank to a fresh depth in his disregard toward journalists, for journalism – and for the facts.

Background Details

The US president’s dismissive attitude of the murder of well-known reporter the Washington Post columnist came during a press conference with the Saudi leader, MBS – a man whom the CIA found in a recent assessment had ordered the abduction and murder of the Washington Post columnist in 2018. (The crown prince has rejected accusations.)

The US intelligence services were not the only ones to conclude the murder – which took place in the Saudi diplomatic building in Turkey and in which the 59-year-old Khashoggi was drugged and dismembered – was signed off at the top echelons. An inquiry led by then UN special rapporteur, Agnès Callamard, reached similar conclusions.

International Response

For a short time, nations were unified in their condemnation of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The US enacted sanctions and visa bans in that year over the murder, although it refrained of sanctioning the crown prince himself. Since then, the kingdom has been slowly rehabilitating 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 worse than could have been imagined. Not only did the president fete the Saudi leader but he effectively rewrote the facts – and then blamed the deceased. The crown prince, he claimed when asked, was unaware about the killing – in clear opposition to what his country’s own spy agencies determined previously. Moreover, Trump said: “A lot of people didn’t like that person that you’re talking about, whether you like him or disapproved, incidents occur.”

Established Conduct

This represents a fresh and shameful low for a leader who has made no attempt to hide of his contempt for the truth – or for the press. He has defamed reporters (he called ABC news, whose reporter asked the inquiry about Khashoggi at the Saudi press conference “fake news”), scolded them in public (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his relationship with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein), taken legal action against media organizations for large amounts of money in vexatious law suits, and called for media groups he doesn’t like to lose their licenses.

He has forced established media out of the official briefing group for declining to use language of his choosing, and he has slashed funding for essential public media at home and crucial free press abroad.

Broader Implications

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 (“incidents occur”) but acceptable (“a lot of people didn’t like that gentleman”).

It is unsurprising that 2024 was the most lethal year on record for journalists in the more than 30 years the press freedom organization has been tracking this information: a ongoing neglect to hold those accountable for journalist killings has created a environment without consequences in which those who murder reporters are actually able to escape punishment and so persist in these actions.

Nowhere is this more evident than in Israel, which is responsible for the killing of more than 200 media workers in the recent period.

Societal Impact

The impact on society is profound. Attacks on journalists are attacks on the truth. They are undermining of reality. They are violations of our rights to know and on our liberty to live freely and safely.

On Thursday, CPJ gathers for its annual International Press Freedom awards. My message there is the identical as my one for Trump: such events may happen. But it is our responsibility to make sure they cease.