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“Incidents take place.” A mere phrase. That was enough for Donald Trump to brush off what is probably the most notorious journalist killing of the last decade – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his contempt for journalists, for journalism – and for the truth.

The Context

The American leader’s dismissal of the killing of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi came during a media briefing with the Saudi leader, MBS – a man whom the CIA concluded in a recent assessment had orchestrated the kidnap and killing of the journalist in 2018. (The crown prince has rejected accusations.)

The US intelligence services were not the only ones to conclude the murder – which occurred in the Saudi diplomatic building in Istanbul and in which the late Khashoggi was drugged and dismembered – was approved at the highest levels. An inquiry led by former UN expert, Agnès Callamard, reached comparable findings.

Global Reactions

For a short time, nations were unified in their condemnation of the kingdom’s conduct. The US imposed penalties and travel restrictions in 2021 over the murder, although it refrained of sanctioning the crown prince himself. Since then, the kingdom has been gradually restoring itself – and the leader’s trip to Washington seemed to be the ultimate sign of that redemption.

Presidential Comments

Critics of the government had strongly criticized the visit. But what was evident at the White House was more alarming than could have been anticipated. Not only did Trump honor the Saudi leader but he effectively rewrote the facts – and then blamed the deceased. Prince Mohammed, Trump claimed when asked, was unaware about the killing – in clear opposition to what his nation’s intelligence services concluded four years ago. Moreover, Trump said: “Many individuals didn’t like that person that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or disapproved, things happen.”

Established Conduct

This represents a fresh and shameful low for a president who has made little secret of his contempt for the truth – or for the media. Trump has smeared reporters (he called ABC news, whose journalist asked the question about the journalist at the Saudi press conference “false information”), scolded them in public (he called one a “piggy” this week for asking about his relationship with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein), taken legal action against news outlets for large amounts of money in frivolous cases, and called for media groups he doesn’t like to be shut down.

He has pressured established media out of the White House press pool for refusing to use terminology of his choosing, and he has slashed funding for vital news services at home and vital independent media abroad.

Broader Implications

All of that has fostered an atmosphere in which reporters are clearly more vulnerable in the United States, but one in which their victimization – and indeed killing – becomes not just unimportant (“incidents occur”) but tolerated (“many individuals disliked that person”).

It is no surprise that 2024 was the deadliest year on record for journalists in the over three decades the press freedom organization has been documenting this data: a persistent failure to bring to justice 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.

In no place is this clearer than in Israel, which is accountable for the killing of more than 200 media workers in the past two years.

Societal Impact

The impact on the public is deep. Targeting reporters are assaults on facts. They are undermining of reality. They are attacks on our rights to know and on our liberty to exist without fear and safely.

On Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists meets for its annual global journalism honors. The statement there is the identical as my message for the president: such events may happen. But it is our duty to make sure they do not.