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“Stuff occurs.” A mere phrase. That was enough for the US president to effectively dismiss what is arguably the most infamous murder of a reporter of the last decade – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his disregard toward journalists, for journalism – and for the truth.

The Context

The American leader’s dismissal of the killing of well-known reporter Jamal Khashoggi came during a media briefing with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the US intelligence found in a 2021 report had orchestrated the kidnap and killing of the journalist in 2018. (The crown prince has denied involvement.)

The American spy agencies were not the only ones to determine the homicide – which took place in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and in which the late Khashoggi was drugged and dismembered – was approved at the highest levels. An investigation led by former UN expert, Agnès Callamard, reached similar conclusions.

Global Reactions

For a brief period, governments were unified in their criticism of the kingdom’s conduct. The United States imposed sanctions and travel restrictions in that year over the murder, although it refrained of sanctioning Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the kingdom has been slowly rehabilitating itself – and the leader’s trip to the US capital seemed to be the final confirmation of that redemption.

Presidential Comments

Opponents of the government had strongly criticized the visit. But what was on display at the White House was worse than could have been imagined. Not only did the president fete the Saudi leader but he seemed to alter history – and then blamed the deceased. The crown prince, he asserted when asked, knew nothing about the murder – in clear opposition to what his country’s own spy agencies determined previously. Moreover, Trump said: “A lot of people disliked that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen.”

Established Conduct

This represents a fresh and shameful low for a leader who has made no attempt to hide of his contempt for the facts – or for the press. Trump has smeared reporters (he called a news network, whose journalist asked the inquiry about Khashoggi at the Saudi press conference “fake news”), berated them in open settings (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his connection with the disgraced financier the convicted criminal), sued news outlets for eye-watering sums of money in frivolous cases, and called for news outlets he doesn’t like to lose their licenses.

He has forced established media out of the White House press pool for declining to use terminology of his preference, and he has gutted funding for essential public media at home and vital independent media internationally.

Broader Implications

All of that has created an atmosphere in which reporters are clearly more vulnerable in the US, but one in which their targeting – and indeed killing – becomes not just insignificant (“incidents occur”) but acceptable (“many individuals disliked that person”).

It is no surprise that 2024 was the most lethal year on record for the press in the more than 30 years the press freedom organization has been documenting this data: a ongoing neglect to bring to justice those responsible for journalist killings has created a culture of impunity in which those who murder reporters are actually able to get away with murder and so continue to do so.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the Middle Eastern nation, which is responsible for the deaths of over two hundred media workers in the past two years.

Societal Impact

The impact on the public is deep. Targeting reporters are attacks on the truth. They are undermining of reality. They are attacks on our entitlement to information and on our freedom to live freely and securely.

On Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists meets for its yearly global journalism honors. My message there is the same as my one for the president: these things may happen. But it is our responsibility to make sure they cease.