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“Things happen.” A mere phrase. That was enough for the US president to effectively dismiss what is arguably the most notorious murder of a reporter of the last decade – and in so doing sank to a fresh depth in his disregard toward journalists, for the media – and for the facts.

The Context

The US president’s dismissal of the killing of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi came during a press conference with the Saudi crown prince, 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 denied involvement.)

The US intelligence services were not the sole entities to conclude the murder – which took place in the Saudi diplomatic building in Istanbul and in which the late journalist was sedated and cut apart – 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 United States imposed penalties and travel restrictions in that year over the killing, although it refrained 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

Critics of the regime had strongly criticized the meeting. But what was on display at the White House was worse than could have been imagined. Not only did Trump fete the Saudi leader but he effectively rewrote history – and then blamed the victim. The crown prince, he asserted when asked, was unaware about the killing – in direct contradiction to what his country’s own spy agencies determined previously. Moreover, the president said: “Many individuals didn’t like 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 reporters (he called ABC news, whose journalist asked the question about Khashoggi at the Saudi press conference “false information”), scolded them in public (he called one a “piggy” this week for asking about his relationship with the disgraced financier the convicted criminal), sued media organizations 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 official briefing group for refusing to use terminology of his choosing, and he has gutted funding for vital news services 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 unimportant (“things happen”) but tolerated (“a lot of people didn’t like that person”).

It is unsurprising that 2024 was the deadliest year on record for the press in the over three decades the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has been tracking this information: a ongoing neglect to hold those accountable for journalist killings has established a environment without consequences in which those who murder reporters are literally able to get away with murder and so persist in these actions.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the Middle Eastern nation, which is responsible for the killing of over two hundred journalists in the past two years.

Societal Impact

The effect on the public is profound. Targeting reporters are assaults on facts. They are attacks on facts. They are attacks on our entitlement to information and on our freedom to exist without fear and securely.

On Thursday, CPJ meets for its yearly global journalism honors. My message at the event is the same as my one for the president: these things may happen. But it is our duty to make sure they cease.