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“Stuff occurs.” A mere phrase. That’s all it took for Donald Trump to effectively dismiss what is probably the most notorious journalist killing of the past ten years – and in so doing sank to a fresh depth in his contempt for the press, for journalism – and for the truth.

The Context

The US president’s dismissive attitude of the murder of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi came during a press conference with the Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the US intelligence found in a 2021 report had orchestrated the abduction and murder of the journalist in that year. (Prince Mohammed has rejected accusations.)

The US intelligence services were not the only ones to conclude the homicide – which took place in the Saudi diplomatic building in Istanbul and in which the 59-year-old journalist was drugged and dismembered – was signed off at the top echelons. An investigation led by then UN special rapporteur, Agnès Callamard, reached comparable findings.

International Response

For a brief period, governments were unified in their condemnation of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The US enacted sanctions and visa bans in 2021 over the murder, although it refrained of penalizing the crown prince himself. Since then, the nation has been gradually restoring itself – and the crown prince’s visit to the US capital seemed to be the ultimate sign of that redemption.

White House Remarks

Opponents of the government had roundly condemned the visit. But what was evident at the presidential residence was more alarming than could have been anticipated. Not only did the president honor Prince Mohammed but he seemed to alter history – and then pointed fingers at the victim. Prince Mohammed, he claimed when asked, was unaware about the killing – in clear opposition to what his country’s own intelligence services determined four years ago. Moreover, Trump said: “A lot of people disliked that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or didn’t like him, things happen.”

Pattern of Behavior

This marks a new and abject point for a president who has made no attempt to hide of his disdain for the truth – or for the media. He has smeared journalists (he called a news network, whose reporter asked the inquiry about Khashoggi at the Saudi press conference “false information”), scolded 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 frivolous cases, and called for news outlets he disapproves of to be shut down.

He has pressured established media out of the official briefing group for refusing to use language of his choosing, and he has slashed financial support for essential public media at home and vital independent media 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 murder – becomes not just insignificant (“incidents occur”) but tolerated (“a lot of people didn’t like that person”).

It is no surprise that 2024 was the most lethal year on file for journalists in the over three decades the press freedom organization has been tracking this data: a persistent failure to bring to justice those responsible for reporter murders has created a culture of impunity in which those who murder reporters are literally able to get away with murder and so continue to do so.

In no place is this more evident than in Israel, which is accountable for the deaths of over two hundred journalists in the recent period.

Effect on Society

The effect on the public is deep. Attacks on journalists are assaults on facts. They are attacks on facts. They are violations of our entitlement to information and on our freedom to exist without fear and safely.

This week, CPJ gathers for its annual International Press Freedom awards. The statement there is the identical as my one for the president: such events may happen. But it is our responsibility to make sure they cease.