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“Things happen.” Just two words. That’s all it took for Donald Trump to effectively dismiss what is probably the most notorious murder of a reporter of the past ten years – 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 dismissal of the murder of well-known reporter Jamal Khashoggi came during a press conference with the Saudi leader, MBS – a man whom the CIA concluded in a 2021 report had orchestrated the abduction and murder of the journalist in that year. (Prince Mohammed has rejected accusations.)

The US intelligence services were not the sole entities to conclude the murder – which occurred in the Saudi consulate in Turkey and in which the late journalist was sedated and dismembered – was approved at the top echelons. An investigation led by former UN expert, the UN investigator, reached comparable findings.

International Response

For a short time, nations were unified in their condemnation of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The United States imposed penalties and travel restrictions in that year over the murder, although it stopped short of sanctioning the crown prince himself. Since then, the nation has been slowly rehabilitating itself – and the leader’s trip to Washington seemed to be the final confirmation of that redemption.

Presidential Comments

Opponents of the government had roundly condemned the visit. But what was on display at the White House was more alarming than could have been anticipated. Not only did the president honor Prince Mohammed but he seemed to alter history – and then blamed the deceased. Prince Mohammed, he asserted when asked, was unaware about the murder – in clear opposition to what his country’s own 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 marks a fresh and shameful low for a leader who has made no attempt to hide of his contempt for the facts – or for the media. He has defamed reporters (he called ABC news, whose journalist asked the inquiry about Khashoggi at the Saudi press conference “false information”), scolded them in open settings (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his connection with the convicted sex offender financier the convicted criminal), taken legal action against media organizations for eye-watering sums of money in frivolous cases, and called for media groups he doesn’t like to be shut down.

He has forced veteran news services out of the White House press pool for declining to use language of his choosing, and he has slashed funding for vital news services at domestically and vital independent media internationally.

Broader Implications

All of that has fostered an atmosphere in which reporters are manifestly less safe in the United States, but one in which their targeting – and indeed killing – becomes not just unimportant (“things happen”) but tolerated (“a lot of people disliked that person”).

It is unsurprising that 2024 was the deadliest year on file for journalists in the more than 30 years the press freedom organization has been documenting this data: a persistent failure to bring to justice those accountable for journalist killings has created a culture of impunity in which those who murder reporters are literally able to escape punishment and so persist in these actions.

Nowhere is this clearer than in the Middle Eastern nation, which is accountable for the deaths of over two hundred media workers in the recent period.

Effect on Society

The impact on the public is deep. Attacks on journalists are attacks on the truth. They are undermining of reality. They are violations of our rights to know and on our freedom to exist without fear and securely.

On Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists gathers for its yearly global journalism honors. My message there is the identical as my message for the president: these things may occur. But it is our responsibility to make sure they cease.