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“Incidents take place.” A mere phrase. That’s all it took for Donald Trump to brush off what is probably the most infamous journalist killing of the past ten years – and in so doing sank to a fresh depth in his disregard toward the press, for journalism – and for the truth.

Background Details

The US president’s dismissal of the killing of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi came during a media briefing with the Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the US intelligence concluded in a 2021 report had ordered the abduction and murder of the journalist in that year. (Prince Mohammed has rejected accusations.)

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 journalist was sedated and cut apart – was approved at the highest levels. An inquiry led by former UN expert, the UN investigator, reached similar conclusions.

International Response

For a short time, governments were unified in their criticism of the kingdom’s conduct. The United States imposed sanctions and travel restrictions in 2021 over the murder, 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 redemption.

Presidential Comments

Opponents of the regime had roundly condemned the meeting. But what was evident at the presidential residence was worse than could have been anticipated. Not only did Trump honor the Saudi leader but he seemed to alter the facts – and then pointed fingers at the deceased. Prince Mohammed, he claimed when asked, was unaware about the killing – in direct contradiction to what his nation’s spy agencies determined previously. Moreover, the president said: “Many individuals didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen.”

Established Conduct

This represents a new and abject low for a president who has made little secret of his disdain for the truth – or for the press. Trump has defamed journalists (he called ABC news, whose journalist asked the question about Khashoggi at the media event “fake news”), scolded them in open settings (he called one a “piggy” this week for asking about his connection with the convicted sex offender financier the convicted criminal), taken legal action against news outlets for eye-watering sums of money in vexatious law suits, and called for media groups he doesn’t like to be shut down.

He has pressured veteran news services out of the official briefing group for declining to use terminology of his choosing, and he has slashed financial support for vital news services at domestically and vital independent media abroad.

Broader Implications

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 murder – becomes not just insignificant (“incidents occur”) but acceptable (“a lot of people didn’t like that person”).

It is no surprise that that year was the most lethal year on record for the press in the over three decades the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has been tracking this data: a ongoing neglect to bring to justice those responsible for journalist killings has created a environment without consequences in which journalists’ killers are literally able to get away with murder and so persist in these actions.

In no place is this more evident than in the Middle Eastern nation, which is accountable for the deaths of over two hundred media workers in the recent period.

Effect on Society

The impact on society is profound. 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 exist without fear and securely.

On Thursday, CPJ meets for its annual global journalism honors. My message at the event is the identical as my message for Trump: such events may occur. But it is our responsibility to make sure they cease.