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“Things happen.” Just two words. That was enough for Donald Trump to brush off what is probably the most notorious murder of a reporter of the last decade – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his disregard toward the press, for journalism – and for the facts.

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 crown prince, MBS – a man whom the US intelligence concluded in a 2021 report had orchestrated the kidnap and killing of the journalist in that year. (The crown prince has denied involvement.)

The American spy agencies were not the sole entities to conclude the murder – which occurred in the Saudi diplomatic building in Istanbul and in which the late Khashoggi was drugged and dismembered – was approved at the highest levels. An inquiry led by then UN special rapporteur, the UN investigator, reached comparable findings.

International Response

For a short time, governments were unified in their condemnation of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The US imposed sanctions and travel restrictions in 2021 over the killing, although it stopped short of penalizing Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the nation has been slowly rehabilitating itself – and the crown prince’s visit to Washington seemed to be the final confirmation of that rehabilitation.

White House Remarks

Critics of the government had roundly condemned the visit. But what was on display at the White House was more alarming than could have been anticipated. Not only did Trump fete Prince Mohammed but he effectively rewrote the facts – and then pointed fingers at the deceased. The crown prince, he claimed when asked, knew nothing about the murder – in clear opposition to what his country’s own spy agencies determined four years ago. Moreover, Trump said: “A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you approve of 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 contempt for the truth – or for the media. Trump has defamed reporters (he called a news network, whose reporter asked the inquiry about the journalist at the Saudi press conference “fake news”), berated them in open settings (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his relationship with the disgraced financier the convicted criminal), sued media organizations for large amounts of money in vexatious law suits, and called for media groups he disapproves of to lose their licenses.

He has pressured veteran news services out of the official briefing group 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 created an environment in which reporters are manifestly less safe in the US, but one in which their victimization – and indeed killing – becomes not just insignificant (“incidents occur”) but acceptable (“a lot of people didn’t like that gentleman”).

It is no surprise that 2024 was the deadliest year on file for the press in the more than 30 years the press freedom organization has been documenting this information: a persistent failure to bring to justice those responsible for reporter murders has created a culture of impunity in which journalists’ killers are literally able to escape punishment and so persist in these actions.

In no place is this clearer than in Israel, which is accountable for the deaths of over two hundred media workers in the recent period.

Effect on Society

The effect on society is deep. Targeting reporters are assaults on facts. They are undermining of reality. They are attacks on our rights to know and on our freedom to exist without fear and safely.

This week, the Committee to Protect Journalists gathers for its annual International Press Freedom awards. My message at the event is the same as my one for Trump: these things may happen. But it is our responsibility to make sure they cease.