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“Incidents take place.” Just two words. That’s all it took for Donald Trump to brush off what is arguably the most notorious murder of a reporter of the past ten years – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his contempt for journalists, for journalism – and for the truth.

The Context

The US president’s dismissal 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 US intelligence concluded in a recent assessment had ordered the abduction and murder of the Washington Post columnist in 2018. (The crown prince has denied involvement.)

The American spy agencies were not the sole entities to determine the murder – which occurred in the Saudi diplomatic building in Turkey and in which the late Khashoggi was sedated and cut apart – was signed off at the highest levels. An inquiry led by then UN special rapporteur, Agnès Callamard, reached comparable findings.

International Response

For a brief period, governments were in agreement in their condemnation of the kingdom’s conduct. The US enacted penalties and visa bans 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 redemption.

White House Remarks

Opponents of the government had strongly criticized the meeting. But what was on display at the presidential residence 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, Trump asserted when asked, knew nothing about the murder – in direct contradiction to what his nation’s spy agencies concluded four years ago. Moreover, Trump said: “Many individuals disliked that person that you’re talking about, whether you approve of 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 disdain for the facts – or for the media. He has defamed journalists (he called ABC news, whose reporter asked the inquiry about Khashoggi at the Saudi press conference “false information”), berated them in public (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his connection with the disgraced financier the convicted criminal), taken legal action against news outlets for large amounts of money in frivolous cases, and called for media groups he doesn’t like to lose their licenses.

He has forced veteran news services out of the official briefing group for declining to use language of his preference, and he has gutted financial support for vital news services at domestically and crucial free press abroad.

Wider Consequences

All of that has fostered an environment in which reporters are manifestly less safe in the US, 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 unsurprising that that year was the most lethal year on file for the press in the over three decades the press freedom organization has been documenting this data: a ongoing neglect to hold those accountable for reporter murders has created a environment without consequences in which those who murder reporters are literally able to escape punishment and so persist in these actions.

In no place is this clearer than in the Middle Eastern nation, which is accountable for the killing of over two hundred journalists in the recent period.

Societal Impact

The effect on society is deep. Attacks on journalists are assaults on facts. They are attacks on facts. They are violations of our rights to know and on our freedom to live freely and securely.

This week, CPJ gathers for its yearly International Press Freedom awards. The statement at the event is the identical as my one for the president: such events may happen. But it is our responsibility to make sure they cease.