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“Stuff occurs.” A mere phrase. That was enough for the US president to brush off what is arguably the most notorious murder of a reporter 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 facts.

The Context

The American leader’s dismissal of the murder of well-known reporter Jamal Khashoggi came during a press conference with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the CIA found in a 2021 report had orchestrated the abduction and murder of the Washington Post columnist in 2018. (The crown prince has rejected accusations.)

The US intelligence services were not the only ones to determine the homicide – which took place in the Saudi consulate in Turkey and in which the late Khashoggi was drugged and dismembered – was approved at the top echelons. An investigation led by then UN special rapporteur, the UN investigator, reached comparable findings.

International Response

For a short time, governments were in agreement in their criticism of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The US imposed sanctions and visa bans in that year over the murder, although it refrained of penalizing Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the nation has been gradually restoring itself – and the leader’s trip to Washington seemed to be the final confirmation of that rehabilitation.

White House Remarks

Opponents of the regime had roundly condemned the meeting. But what was evident at the presidential residence was more alarming than could have been anticipated. Not only did the president honor the Saudi leader but he effectively rewrote history – and then pointed fingers at the deceased. Prince Mohammed, Trump claimed when asked, knew nothing about the murder – in clear opposition to what his country’s own spy agencies concluded four years ago. Moreover, the president said: “A lot of people disliked that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or disapproved, incidents occur.”

Established Conduct

This represents a new and abject point for a leader who has made little secret of his contempt for the facts – or for the press. Trump has defamed journalists (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 relationship 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 disapproves of to be shut down.

He has forced veteran news services out of the White House press pool for refusing to use language of his choosing, and he has slashed funding for essential public media at home and vital independent media abroad.

Wider Consequences

All of that has created an environment in which reporters are clearly more vulnerable in the United States, but one in which their victimization – and indeed killing – becomes not just insignificant (“things happen”) but tolerated (“many individuals disliked that gentleman”).

It is no surprise that that year was the deadliest year on record for journalists in the more than 30 years the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has been documenting this information: a ongoing neglect to hold 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 persist in these actions.

In no place is this more evident than in Israel, which is accountable for the killing of more than 200 journalists in the past two years.

Societal Impact

The effect on society is profound. Attacks on journalists are assaults on facts. They are undermining of reality. They are attacks on our entitlement to information and on our liberty to live freely and safely.

This week, CPJ gathers for its annual global journalism honors. My message there is the same as my one for the president: these things may occur. But it is our duty to make sure they cease.