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“Incidents take place.” A mere phrase. That’s all it took for Donald Trump 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 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 press conference with the Saudi leader, MBS – a man whom the US intelligence found in a recent assessment had ordered the kidnap and killing of the Washington Post columnist in that year. (The crown prince has rejected accusations.)

The American spy agencies were not the sole entities to determine the murder – which occurred in the Saudi diplomatic building in Istanbul and in which the 59-year-old Khashoggi was drugged and dismembered – was approved at the highest levels. An inquiry led by former UN expert, Agnès Callamard, reached similar conclusions.

Global Reactions

For a short time, governments were unified in their criticism of the kingdom’s conduct. The United States enacted sanctions and travel restrictions in that year over the killing, although it stopped short of penalizing Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the nation has been gradually restoring itself – and the crown prince’s visit to the US capital seemed to be the final confirmation of that rehabilitation.

White House Remarks

Critics of the regime had strongly criticized the visit. But what was evident at the White House was more alarming than could have been imagined. Not only did the president fete Prince Mohammed but he effectively rewrote the facts – and then pointed fingers at the deceased. Prince Mohammed, Trump claimed when asked, knew nothing about the murder – in direct contradiction to what his country’s own spy agencies concluded previously. Moreover, Trump said: “Many individuals disliked that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you like him or disapproved, incidents occur.”

Established Conduct

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 press. Trump has smeared reporters (he called ABC news, whose reporter asked the inquiry about the journalist at the Saudi press conference “false information”), berated them in open settings (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his relationship with the convicted sex offender financier the convicted criminal), sued media organizations for large amounts of money in frivolous cases, and called for news outlets he disapproves of to lose their licenses.

He has pressured veteran news services out of the White House press pool for refusing to use language of his preference, and he has slashed funding for essential public media at home and vital independent media internationally.

Wider Consequences

All of that has created an atmosphere in which reporters are manifestly less safe 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 gentleman”).

It is unsurprising that 2024 was the most lethal year on record for the press in the over three decades the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has been documenting this information: a persistent failure to bring to justice those responsible for reporter murders has established a culture of impunity in which those who murder reporters are actually able to escape punishment and so continue to do so.

Nowhere is this more evident than in Israel, which is accountable for the deaths of more than 200 media workers in the recent period.

Societal Impact

The impact on the public is deep. Attacks on journalists are attacks on the truth. They are attacks on facts. They are attacks on our entitlement to information and on our freedom to live freely and securely.

This week, CPJ meets for its annual International Press Freedom awards. My message at the event is the same as my message for Trump: these things may occur. But it is our responsibility to make sure they do not.