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“Stuff occurs.” Just two words. That’s all it took for the US president to effectively dismiss 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 contempt for the press, for the media – and for the facts.

The Context

The American leader’s dismissive attitude of the killing of well-known reporter Jamal Khashoggi came during a media briefing with the Saudi crown prince, MBS – a man whom the CIA found in a 2021 report had ordered the abduction and murder of the Washington Post columnist in 2018. (Prince Mohammed has rejected accusations.)

The American spy agencies were not the only ones to conclude the homicide – which occurred in the Saudi consulate in Turkey and in which the 59-year-old Khashoggi was sedated and cut apart – was approved at the top echelons. An investigation led by former UN expert, the UN investigator, reached comparable findings.

Global Reactions

For a brief period, governments were in agreement in their condemnation of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The US enacted sanctions and travel restrictions in that year over the murder, although it refrained of penalizing the crown prince 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.

Presidential Comments

Critics of the regime had roundly condemned the meeting. But what was on display at the White House was more alarming than could have been imagined. Not only did the president honor the Saudi leader but he effectively rewrote history – and then pointed fingers at the deceased. The crown prince, he asserted when asked, was unaware about the murder – in clear opposition to what his nation’s spy agencies determined four years ago. Moreover, Trump said: “Many individuals disliked that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen.”

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. He 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 convicted sex offender financier the convicted criminal), taken legal action against media organizations 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 declining to use terminology of his choosing, and he has slashed financial support for essential public media 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 targeting – and indeed killing – becomes not just unimportant (“incidents occur”) but acceptable (“many individuals didn’t like that gentleman”).

It is unsurprising that 2024 was the deadliest year on file for the press in the over three decades the press freedom organization has been documenting this information: a ongoing neglect to hold those responsible for journalist killings has established a environment without consequences in which those who murder reporters are actually able to escape punishment and so persist in these actions.

In no place is this more evident than in the Middle Eastern nation, which is responsible for the killing of more than 200 journalists in the recent period.

Societal Impact

The effect on the public is profound. Targeting reporters are assaults on facts. They are attacks on facts. They are violations of our entitlement to information and on our liberty to live freely and securely.

On Thursday, CPJ meets for its annual global journalism honors. The statement there is the identical as my message for the president: such events may happen. But it is our duty to make sure they cease.