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“Things happen.” Just two words. That was enough for Donald Trump to effectively dismiss what is arguably the most notorious journalist killing of the last decade – 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 US president’s dismissive attitude of the murder of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi came during a press conference with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the US intelligence concluded in a recent assessment had orchestrated the kidnap and killing of the journalist in 2018. (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 Turkey and in which the late journalist was drugged and cut apart – was signed off at the highest levels. An investigation led by then UN special rapporteur, the UN investigator, reached similar conclusions.

International Response

For a short time, nations were unified in their condemnation of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The US enacted sanctions and travel restrictions in that year over the killing, although it refrained of penalizing Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the nation has been gradually restoring 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 roundly condemned the visit. But what was on display at the White House was more alarming than could have been anticipated. Not only did Trump fete the Saudi leader but he effectively rewrote the facts – and then pointed fingers at the deceased. The crown prince, he asserted when asked, knew nothing about the killing – in direct contradiction to what his nation’s intelligence services concluded four years ago. 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 represents a new and abject point for a president who has made no attempt to hide of his disdain for the truth – or for the press. Trump has smeared reporters (he called a news network, whose journalist 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 disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein), taken legal action against news outlets for large amounts of money in vexatious law suits, and called for media groups he doesn’t like to lose their licenses.

He has pressured established media out of the White House press pool for declining to use terminology of his preference, and he has gutted financial support for vital news services at home and crucial free press abroad.

Wider Consequences

All of that has fostered an environment in which reporters are manifestly less safe in the United States, but one in which their victimization – and indeed killing – becomes not just insignificant (“things happen”) but acceptable (“a lot of people didn’t like that gentleman”).

It is no surprise that 2024 was the deadliest year on record for the press in the more than 30 years the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has been tracking this data: a persistent failure to hold those responsible for journalist killings has created a culture of impunity in which those who murder reporters are literally able to escape punishment and so continue to do so.

In no place is this clearer than in Israel, which is accountable for the killing of more than 200 media workers in the past two years.

Societal Impact

The impact on the public is deep. Attacks on journalists are assaults on facts. They are undermining of reality. They are attacks on our entitlement to information and on our freedom to exist without fear and securely.

This week, CPJ gathers for its yearly International Press Freedom awards. My message at the event is the identical as my one for Trump: such events may happen. But it is our responsibility to make sure they do not.