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“Stuff occurs.” A mere phrase. That was enough for the US president 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.

Background Details

The American leader’s dismissive attitude of the murder 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 concluded in a 2021 report had ordered the kidnap and killing of the Washington Post columnist in 2018. (The crown prince has rejected accusations.)

The US intelligence services were not the only ones to conclude the homicide – which occurred in the Saudi diplomatic building in Turkey and in which the late journalist was sedated and cut apart – was approved at the highest levels. An inquiry led by former UN expert, Agnès Callamard, reached similar conclusions.

Global Reactions

For a brief period, governments were unified in their condemnation of the kingdom’s conduct. The US imposed penalties and visa bans in 2021 over the killing, although it refrained of penalizing Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the nation has been gradually restoring itself – and the leader’s trip to the US capital seemed to be the final confirmation of that redemption.

White House Remarks

Opponents of the government 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 fete Prince Mohammed but he effectively rewrote history – and then blamed the deceased. The crown prince, Trump claimed when asked, knew nothing about the murder – in clear opposition to what his nation’s spy agencies determined previously. Moreover, Trump said: “A lot of people disliked that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you like him or disapproved, things happen.”

Established Conduct

This represents a fresh and shameful low for a president who has made no attempt to hide of his disdain for the truth – or for the press. Trump has defamed reporters (he called a news network, whose reporter asked the inquiry about the journalist at the media event “false information”), scolded them in public (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his connection with the convicted sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein), taken legal action against news outlets for eye-watering sums of money in vexatious law suits, and called for media groups he disapproves of to lose their licenses.

He has forced veteran news services out of the White House press pool for refusing to use terminology of his choosing, and he has gutted financial support for vital news services at domestically and crucial free press internationally.

Wider Consequences

All of that has created an environment in which journalists are clearly more vulnerable in the US, but one in which their victimization – and indeed killing – becomes not just unimportant (“things happen”) but acceptable (“a lot of people disliked that gentleman”).

It is unsurprising that that year was the most lethal year on file for journalists 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 culture of impunity in which journalists’ killers are actually able to get away with murder and so continue to do so.

Nowhere is this clearer than in Israel, which is responsible for the killing of over two hundred journalists in the recent period.

Effect on Society

The effect on society is deep. Targeting reporters are assaults on facts. They are attacks on facts. They are attacks on our entitlement to information and on our liberty to exist without fear and securely.

On Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists gathers for its yearly global journalism honors. My message at the event is the same as my one for Trump: such events may occur. But it is our duty to make sure they cease.