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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 past ten years – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his contempt for the press, for the media – and for the facts.

The Context

The US president’s dismissal of the killing of prominent journalist 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 2021 report had orchestrated the kidnap and killing of the Washington Post columnist in that year. (Prince Mohammed has denied involvement.)

The US intelligence services were not the only ones to conclude the murder – which took place in the Saudi diplomatic building in Istanbul and in which the 59-year-old Khashoggi was sedated and cut apart – was signed off at the top echelons. An inquiry led by former UN expert, the UN investigator, reached comparable findings.

International Response

For a short time, governments were unified in their condemnation of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The United States enacted penalties and travel restrictions in that year over the killing, although it refrained of penalizing the crown prince himself. Since then, the kingdom has been gradually restoring itself – and the leader’s trip to Washington seemed to be the final confirmation of that rehabilitation.

Presidential Comments

Opponents of the regime had strongly criticized the meeting. But what was on display at the White House was more alarming than could have been anticipated. Not only did the president honor Prince Mohammed but he seemed to alter history – and then pointed fingers at the deceased. The crown prince, he claimed when asked, was unaware about the killing – in direct contradiction to what his nation’s intelligence services concluded previously. Moreover, Trump said: “Many individuals disliked that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or didn’t like him, incidents occur.”

Established Conduct

This marks a new and abject point for a president who has made little secret of his disdain for the facts – or for the press. Trump has smeared reporters (he called a news network, whose journalist asked the question about Khashoggi at the Saudi press conference “false information”), scolded them in open settings (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his relationship with the disgraced financier the convicted criminal), taken legal action against media organizations for large amounts of money in vexatious law suits, and called for news outlets he disapproves of to lose their licenses.

He has forced veteran news services out of the White House press pool for declining to use language of his choosing, and he has slashed funding for vital news services at home and vital independent media abroad.

Wider Consequences

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

It is no surprise that that year was the deadliest year on file for the press in the over three decades the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has been tracking this information: a ongoing neglect to bring to justice those accountable for reporter murders has created a environment without consequences in which those who murder reporters are actually able to get away with murder and so persist in these actions.

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

Effect on Society

The impact on society is deep. 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 live freely and safely.

On Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists meets for its annual International Press Freedom awards. The statement there is the identical as my message for Trump: such events may happen. But it is our duty to make sure they do not.