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“Stuff occurs.” A mere phrase. That’s all it took for Donald Trump to brush off what is probably the most notorious murder of a reporter of the last decade – and in so doing sank to a fresh depth in his contempt for the press, for the media – and for the truth.

The Context

The American leader’s dismissal of the murder of well-known reporter the Washington Post columnist came during a media briefing with the Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the US intelligence concluded in a recent assessment had ordered the kidnap and killing of the journalist in that year. (Prince Mohammed 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 late Khashoggi was drugged and cut apart – was approved at the top echelons. An investigation led by then UN special rapporteur, the UN investigator, reached comparable findings.

Global Reactions

For a brief period, nations were in agreement in their condemnation of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The US enacted sanctions and travel restrictions in 2021 over the killing, although it refrained of sanctioning Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the nation has been slowly rehabilitating itself – and the crown prince’s visit to the US capital seemed to be the ultimate sign of that redemption.

White House Remarks

Critics of the government 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 honor Prince Mohammed but he effectively rewrote the facts – and then pointed fingers at the deceased. The crown prince, he claimed when asked, was unaware about the murder – in clear opposition to what his country’s own spy agencies concluded previously. Moreover, the president said: “A lot of people disliked that person that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or disapproved, incidents occur.”

Pattern of Behavior

This marks a fresh and shameful low for a leader who has made no attempt to hide of his contempt for the truth – or for the media. Trump has defamed reporters (he called a news network, whose reporter asked the question about Khashoggi at the media event “fake news”), berated them in open settings (he called one a “piggy” this week for asking about his relationship with the convicted sex offender financier the convicted criminal), sued news outlets for eye-watering sums of money in frivolous cases, and called for news outlets he disapproves of to lose their licenses.

He has pressured veteran news services out of the White House press pool for declining to use language of his preference, and he has gutted financial support for essential public media at home and vital independent media abroad.

Wider Consequences

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

It is no surprise that 2024 was the most lethal year on record for journalists in the over three decades the press freedom organization has been tracking this information: a persistent failure to hold those responsible for journalist killings 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 clearer than in Israel, which is responsible for the deaths of more than 200 journalists in the recent period.

Effect on Society

The impact on the public is profound. Attacks on journalists are assaults on facts. They are undermining of reality. They are violations of our rights to know and on our freedom to exist without fear and safely.

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