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“Incidents take place.” A mere phrase. That was enough for the US president 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 contempt for journalists, for journalism – and for the facts.

Background Details

The US president’s dismissal of the killing of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi came during a press conference with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the US intelligence found in a 2021 report had orchestrated the abduction and murder of the Washington Post columnist in that year. (The crown prince has denied involvement.)

The US intelligence services were not the only ones to determine the murder – which occurred in the Saudi diplomatic building in Istanbul and in which the 59-year-old journalist was sedated 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 condemnation of the kingdom’s conduct. The United States enacted penalties and visa bans in that year over the killing, although it stopped short of penalizing the crown prince himself. Since then, the nation has been slowly rehabilitating itself – and the leader’s trip to the US capital seemed to be the final confirmation of that redemption.

Presidential Comments

Critics of the regime had strongly criticized the meeting. But what was on display at the White House was worse than could have been anticipated. Not only did the president honor Prince Mohammed but he seemed to alter history – and then blamed the victim. Prince Mohammed, Trump claimed when asked, was unaware about the murder – in direct contradiction to what his country’s own intelligence services concluded four years ago. Moreover, the president said: “A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or disapproved, incidents occur.”

Established Conduct

This marks a fresh and shameful point for a president who has made little secret of his contempt for the facts – or for the press. Trump has smeared reporters (he called a news network, whose reporter asked the question about the journalist at the Saudi press conference “fake news”), scolded them in public (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his connection with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein), taken legal action against news outlets for large amounts of money in vexatious law suits, and called for news outlets he doesn’t like to lose their licenses.

He has forced established media out of the White House press pool for declining to use terminology of his preference, and he has gutted funding for vital news services at domestically and vital independent media internationally.

Broader Implications

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

It is no surprise that that year was the deadliest year on record for the press in the more than 30 years the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has been documenting this data: a ongoing neglect to bring to justice those responsible for journalist killings has created a environment without consequences 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 the Middle Eastern nation, which is accountable for the killing of more than 200 media workers in the recent period.

Societal Impact

The effect on society is deep. Targeting reporters are attacks on the truth. They are attacks on facts. They are attacks on our entitlement to information and on our liberty to live freely and securely.

On Thursday, CPJ meets for its annual International Press Freedom awards. The statement there is the identical as my one for the president: these things may occur. But it is our duty to make sure they cease.