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“Things happen.” Just two words. That was enough for Donald Trump to effectively dismiss what is probably the most infamous journalist killing of the last decade – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his disregard toward the press, for journalism – and for the truth.

The Context

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

The American spy agencies were not the only ones to determine the homicide – which occurred in the Saudi diplomatic building in Istanbul and in which the 59-year-old Khashoggi was sedated and dismembered – was signed off at the top echelons. An inquiry led by then UN special rapporteur, the UN investigator, reached comparable findings.

International Response

For a short time, nations were in agreement in their criticism of the kingdom’s conduct. The United States enacted sanctions and travel restrictions in 2021 over the killing, although it refrained 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.

White House Remarks

Opponents of the government had strongly criticized the visit. But what was on display at the White House was more alarming than could have been anticipated. Not only did Trump fete Prince Mohammed but he seemed to alter the facts – and then blamed the deceased. Prince Mohammed, Trump asserted when asked, was unaware about the murder – in clear opposition to what his nation’s spy agencies determined four years ago. Moreover, the president said: “A lot of people disliked that person that you’re talking about, whether you like him or disapproved, incidents occur.”

Pattern of Behavior

This marks a new and abject point for a leader who has made no attempt to hide of his contempt for the truth – or for the media. He has defamed reporters (he called ABC news, whose reporter asked the inquiry about the journalist at the media event “fake news”), scolded them in open settings (he called one a “piggy” this week for asking about his connection with the convicted sex offender financier the convicted criminal), taken legal action against news outlets for large amounts of money in vexatious law suits, and called for news outlets he doesn’t like to be shut down.

He has pressured veteran news services out of the official briefing group for declining to use language of his choosing, and he has gutted funding for essential public media at home and vital independent media abroad.

Wider Consequences

All of that has fostered an environment in which reporters are clearly more vulnerable in the US, but one in which their victimization – and indeed killing – becomes not just insignificant (“things happen”) but acceptable (“many individuals disliked that gentleman”).

It is unsurprising that that year was the most lethal year on file for journalists in the more than 30 years the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has been tracking this information: a ongoing neglect to hold those responsible for journalist killings has established a environment without consequences in which journalists’ killers are literally able to get away with murder and so continue to do so.

Nowhere is this clearer than in the Middle Eastern nation, which is accountable for the deaths of more than 200 media workers in the recent period.

Societal Impact

The impact on the public is profound. Attacks on journalists are assaults on facts. They are attacks on facts. They are attacks on our rights to know and on our liberty to exist without fear and safely.

This week, CPJ gathers for its yearly International Press Freedom awards. The statement at the event is the identical as my message for the president: such events may happen. But it is our duty to make sure they do not.