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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 infamous journalist killing of the past ten years – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his contempt for journalists, for the media – and for the truth.

The Context

The American leader’s dismissive attitude of the killing of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi came during a press conference with the Saudi leader, MBS – a man whom the CIA concluded in a recent assessment had orchestrated the kidnap and killing of the Washington Post columnist in 2018. (Prince Mohammed has denied involvement.)

The US intelligence services were not the only ones to determine the homicide – which occurred in the Saudi diplomatic building in Istanbul and in which the 59-year-old Khashoggi was sedated and dismembered – was approved at the highest levels. An investigation led by then UN special rapporteur, the UN investigator, reached comparable findings.

Global Reactions

For a brief period, governments were in agreement in their condemnation of the kingdom’s conduct. The US enacted sanctions and travel restrictions in 2021 over the killing, although it refrained of sanctioning Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the kingdom has been slowly rehabilitating itself – and the crown prince’s visit to Washington seemed to be the ultimate sign of that rehabilitation.

Presidential Comments

Critics of the government had roundly condemned the meeting. But what was evident at the presidential residence was worse than could have been imagined. Not only did the president honor 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 direct contradiction to what his country’s own spy agencies concluded previously. Moreover, the president said: “Many individuals didn’t like that person that you’re talking about, whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen.”

Pattern of Behavior

This marks a new and abject low for a president who has made no attempt to hide of his disdain for the facts – or for the media. Trump has smeared reporters (he called ABC news, whose journalist asked the inquiry about Khashoggi at the media event “false information”), berated them in open settings (he called one a “piggy” this week for asking about his connection with the disgraced financier the convicted criminal), sued news outlets for large amounts of money in frivolous cases, and called for news outlets he disapproves of to be shut down.

He has forced established media out of the official briefing group for declining to use language of his choosing, and he has slashed financial support for essential public media at domestically and crucial free press internationally.

Broader Implications

All of that has created an environment in which journalists are clearly more vulnerable in the United States, but one in which their victimization – and indeed murder – becomes not just unimportant (“things happen”) but acceptable (“many individuals didn’t like that gentleman”).

It is no surprise that that year was the most lethal year on record for the press in the over three decades the press freedom organization has been tracking this data: a persistent failure to hold those responsible for reporter murders has established a environment without consequences in which those who murder reporters 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 killing of more than 200 media workers in the recent period.

Societal Impact

The impact on the public is profound. Attacks on journalists are assaults on facts. They are undermining of reality. They are attacks on our rights to know and on our freedom to live freely and safely.

On Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists gathers for its yearly International Press Freedom awards. The statement there is the identical as my one for Trump: such events may occur. But it is our responsibility to make sure they cease.