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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 infamous journalist killing of the past ten years – and in so doing sank to a fresh depth in his disregard toward journalists, for the media – and for the truth.

The Context

The US president’s dismissive attitude of the killing 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 recent assessment had ordered the kidnap and killing of the journalist in that year. (The crown prince has rejected accusations.)

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 59-year-old Khashoggi was sedated and cut apart – 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, nations were in agreement in their condemnation of the kingdom’s conduct. The US imposed sanctions and travel restrictions in 2021 over the murder, although it stopped short of penalizing the crown prince himself. Since then, the kingdom has been slowly rehabilitating itself – and the leader’s trip to the US capital seemed to be the ultimate sign of that redemption.

Presidential Comments

Opponents of the government had strongly criticized the visit. But what was on display at the White House was more alarming than could have been anticipated. Not only did the president fete Prince Mohammed but he effectively rewrote the facts – and then blamed the victim. The crown prince, he claimed when asked, was unaware about the murder – in direct contradiction to what his country’s own spy agencies concluded previously. Moreover, Trump said: “A lot of people disliked that person that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or disapproved, incidents occur.”

Pattern of Behavior

This represents a new and abject low for a president who has made no attempt to hide of his contempt for the truth – or for the media. He has defamed journalists (he called a news network, whose reporter asked the question about Khashoggi at the media event “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 news outlets for eye-watering sums of money in frivolous cases, and called for media groups he disapproves of to be shut down.

He has pressured veteran news services out of the official briefing group for declining to use terminology of his preference, and he has gutted financial support for vital news services at home and vital independent media abroad.

Broader Implications

All of that has fostered an environment in which journalists are manifestly less safe in the US, but one in which their targeting – and indeed murder – becomes not just unimportant (“incidents occur”) but acceptable (“many individuals didn’t like that person”).

It is unsurprising that that year was the most lethal year on record for the press in the over three decades the press freedom organization has been documenting this data: a ongoing neglect to hold those responsible for journalist killings has created a culture of impunity in which journalists’ killers are actually able to get away with murder and so continue to do so.

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

Societal Impact

The impact on the public is profound. Targeting reporters are attacks on the truth. They are undermining of reality. They are attacks on our rights to know and on our liberty to live freely and safely.

This week, the Committee to Protect Journalists gathers for its yearly International Press Freedom awards. My message there is the same as my message for Trump: these things may occur. But it is our duty to make sure they do not.