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“Stuff occurs.” Just two words. That’s all it took for the US president to brush off what is probably the most notorious journalist killing 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 truth.

Background Details

The American leader’s dismissal of the killing of prominent journalist the Washington Post columnist came during a press conference with the Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the CIA concluded in a recent assessment had ordered 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 occurred in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and in which the late Khashoggi was sedated and dismembered – was signed off at the top echelons. An investigation led by then UN special rapporteur, Agnès Callamard, reached similar conclusions.

International Response

For a short time, governments were unified in their criticism of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The US enacted penalties and visa bans in 2021 over the killing, although it stopped short of sanctioning the crown prince himself. Since then, the nation has been slowly rehabilitating itself – and the leader’s trip to Washington seemed to be the final confirmation of that rehabilitation.

Presidential Comments

Opponents of the government had roundly condemned the visit. But what was on display at the presidential residence was more alarming than could have been anticipated. Not only did Trump fete Prince Mohammed but he seemed to alter history – and then blamed the victim. Prince Mohammed, Trump asserted when asked, knew nothing about the murder – in clear opposition to what his country’s own intelligence services 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.”

Established Conduct

This marks a fresh and shameful point for a leader who has made little secret of his contempt for the facts – or for the press. Trump has smeared journalists (he called a news network, whose journalist asked the inquiry about the journalist at the Saudi press conference “fake news”), berated them in open settings (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his connection with the convicted sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein), taken legal action against news outlets for large amounts of money in frivolous cases, and called for news outlets he doesn’t like to lose their licenses.

He has pressured veteran news services out of the official briefing group for declining to use terminology of his choosing, and he has slashed financial support for essential public media at home and crucial free press internationally.

Wider Consequences

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

It is no surprise that that year was the deadliest year on record for the press in the over three decades the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has been tracking this data: a ongoing neglect to bring to justice those accountable for journalist killings has established 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 clearer than in the Middle Eastern nation, which is responsible for the deaths of over two hundred journalists in the past two years.

Societal Impact

The impact on society is deep. Targeting reporters are assaults on facts. They are undermining of reality. They are violations of our entitlement to information and on our liberty to exist without fear and safely.

On Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists gathers for its annual global journalism honors. My message at the event is the identical as my one for Trump: these things may occur. But it is our responsibility to make sure they do not.