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“Stuff occurs.” Just two words. That’s all it took for the US president to brush off what is arguably the most infamous murder of a reporter of the last decade – and in so doing sank to a fresh depth in his disregard toward the press, for the media – and for the truth.

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 CIA concluded in a recent assessment had orchestrated the abduction and murder of the journalist in that year. (Prince Mohammed has denied involvement.)

The American spy agencies were not the sole entities to determine the homicide – which occurred in the Saudi diplomatic building in Istanbul and in which the late Khashoggi was drugged and dismembered – 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, nations were in agreement in their criticism of the kingdom’s conduct. The United States imposed penalties and travel restrictions in 2021 over the murder, although it stopped short of sanctioning Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the nation has been slowly rehabilitating 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 strongly criticized the meeting. But what was evident at the White House was more alarming than could have been anticipated. Not only did Trump fete the Saudi leader but he effectively rewrote the facts – and then pointed fingers at the deceased. Prince Mohammed, he claimed when asked, was unaware about the murder – in clear opposition to what his nation’s spy agencies concluded four years ago. Moreover, Trump said: “Many individuals didn’t like that person that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or disapproved, incidents occur.”

Pattern of Behavior

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 defamed journalists (he called a news network, whose journalist asked the inquiry about the journalist at the media event “fake news”), scolded them in public (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his connection with the convicted sex offender financier the convicted criminal), taken legal action against media organizations for large amounts of money in frivolous cases, and called for news outlets he disapproves of to lose their licenses.

He has forced established media out of the White House press pool for refusing to use language of his preference, and he has gutted funding for vital news services at home and vital independent media abroad.

Wider Consequences

All of that has fostered an atmosphere in which journalists are clearly more vulnerable in the United States, but one in which their victimization – and indeed murder – becomes not just insignificant (“incidents occur”) but tolerated (“a lot of people disliked that gentleman”).

It is unsurprising that 2024 was the most lethal year on file for the press in the over three decades the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has been tracking this data: a ongoing neglect to hold those responsible for reporter murders has created a environment without consequences in which journalists’ killers are actually able to escape punishment and so continue to do so.

In no place is this clearer than in the Middle Eastern nation, which is responsible for the killing of more than 200 journalists in the past two years.

Societal Impact

The impact on society is deep. Targeting reporters are assaults on facts. They are attacks on facts. They are attacks on our rights to know and on our liberty to live freely and safely.

On Thursday, CPJ gathers for its yearly global journalism honors. The statement at the event is the identical as my one for Trump: these things may happen. But it is our duty to make sure they do not.