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“Things happen.” Just two words. That was enough for Donald Trump 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 the media – and for the facts.

Background Details

The US president’s dismissal of the murder of prominent journalist the Washington Post columnist came during a media briefing with the Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the CIA concluded in a recent assessment had ordered the kidnap and killing of the journalist in that year. (Prince Mohammed has denied involvement.)

The American spy agencies were not the sole entities to conclude the murder – which took place in the Saudi consulate in Turkey and in which the 59-year-old Khashoggi was sedated and cut apart – was approved at the top echelons. An investigation led by then UN special rapporteur, the UN investigator, reached similar conclusions.

International Response

For a short time, governments were in agreement in their condemnation of the kingdom’s conduct. The US enacted sanctions and travel restrictions in that year over the killing, although it stopped short of sanctioning Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the nation 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

Critics of the regime had roundly condemned the meeting. But what was evident at the presidential residence was worse than could have been imagined. Not only did Trump fete the Saudi leader but he seemed to alter history – and then pointed fingers at the deceased. The crown prince, Trump asserted when asked, was unaware about the killing – in direct contradiction to what his nation’s intelligence services concluded previously. Moreover, Trump said: “Many individuals didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or disapproved, things happen.”

Pattern of Behavior

This represents a fresh and shameful point for a leader who has made no attempt to hide of his disdain for the facts – or for the press. He has smeared journalists (he called a news network, whose reporter asked the question about Khashoggi 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 pressured established media out of the official briefing group for refusing to use terminology of his choosing, and he has slashed financial support for vital news services at home and vital independent media abroad.

Wider Consequences

All of that has created an atmosphere in which reporters are manifestly less safe in the US, but one in which their victimization – and indeed murder – becomes not just insignificant (“things happen”) but tolerated (“many individuals didn’t like 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 Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has been tracking this information: a persistent failure to hold those responsible for reporter murders has established a environment without consequences in which journalists’ killers are actually able to get away with murder and so persist in these actions.

In no place is this more evident than in Israel, which is accountable for the deaths of more than 200 media workers in the recent period.

Societal Impact

The effect on the public is deep. Targeting reporters are attacks on the truth. They are undermining of reality. They are violations of our rights to know and on our liberty to live freely and safely.

This week, the Committee to Protect Journalists meets for its yearly global journalism honors. The statement there is the same as my one for the president: these things may happen. But it is our duty to make sure they do not.