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“Incidents take place.” A mere phrase. That was enough for Donald Trump to effectively dismiss what is arguably the most infamous 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 facts.

The Context

The American leader’s dismissive attitude of the killing of prominent journalist the Washington Post columnist came during a media briefing with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman – 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 denied involvement.)

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

Global Reactions

For a brief period, governments were unified in their condemnation of the kingdom’s conduct. The US enacted penalties and visa bans in 2021 over the killing, although it refrained of sanctioning the crown prince himself. Since then, the kingdom has been gradually restoring itself – and the crown prince’s visit to Washington seemed to be the ultimate sign of that rehabilitation.

White House Remarks

Opponents of the regime had strongly criticized the meeting. But what was on display at the presidential residence was worse than could have been anticipated. Not only did the president honor Prince Mohammed but he effectively rewrote history – and then pointed fingers at the victim. Prince Mohammed, he asserted when asked, was unaware about the killing – in direct contradiction to what his country’s own intelligence services determined previously. Moreover, Trump said: “Many individuals disliked that gentleman 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 president who has made no attempt to hide of his disdain for the truth – or for the press. Trump has smeared journalists (he called a news network, whose reporter asked the inquiry about the journalist at the media event “false information”), scolded them in public (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his relationship with the convicted sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein), taken legal action against media organizations for eye-watering sums of money in vexatious law suits, and called for news outlets 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 preference, and he has gutted financial support for essential public media at domestically and vital independent media abroad.

Wider Consequences

All of that has fostered an atmosphere in which reporters are clearly more vulnerable in the US, but one in which their targeting – and indeed murder – becomes not just insignificant (“things happen”) but tolerated (“a lot of people didn’t like that person”).

It is no surprise that that year was the deadliest year on record for journalists in the more than 30 years the press freedom organization has been documenting this data: a ongoing neglect to hold those accountable for reporter murders has established a environment without consequences in which those who murder reporters are literally able to get away with murder and so continue to do so.

In no place is this more evident than in the Middle Eastern nation, which is responsible for the killing of over two hundred media workers in the past two years.

Societal Impact

The impact on the public is deep. Attacks on journalists are attacks on the truth. They are undermining of reality. They are attacks on our rights to know and on our liberty to live freely and safely.

This week, CPJ meets for its yearly global journalism honors. The statement there is the same as my message for Trump: these things may happen. But it is our duty to make sure they cease.