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“Incidents take place.” Just two words. That’s all it took for the US president to brush off 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 contempt for the press, for the media – and for the truth.

The Context

The US president’s dismissive attitude of the murder of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi came during a media briefing with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the CIA found in a recent assessment had ordered the abduction and murder of the Washington Post columnist in that year. (The crown prince has denied involvement.)

The US intelligence services were not the sole entities to conclude the homicide – which took place in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and in which the late journalist was drugged and dismembered – was signed off at the top echelons. An inquiry led by then UN special rapporteur, the UN investigator, reached comparable findings.

Global Reactions

For a short time, nations were unified in their condemnation of Saudi Arabia’s actions. 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 crown prince’s visit to Washington seemed to be the final confirmation of that redemption.

White House Remarks

Opponents of the regime had roundly condemned the meeting. But what was on display at the presidential residence was worse than could have been anticipated. Not only did the president fete the Saudi leader but he seemed to alter history – and then blamed the deceased. The crown prince, Trump claimed when asked, knew nothing about the killing – in direct contradiction to what his nation’s spy agencies concluded previously. Moreover, Trump said: “Many individuals disliked that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or disapproved, incidents occur.”

Established Conduct

This represents a fresh and shameful point for a leader who has made no attempt to hide of his contempt for the facts – or for the press. Trump has defamed reporters (he called a news network, whose journalist asked the question about Khashoggi at the media event “false information”), berated them in public (he called one a “piggy” this week for asking about his relationship with the convicted sex offender financier the convicted criminal), sued news outlets for eye-watering sums of money in vexatious law suits, and called for news outlets he doesn’t like to lose their licenses.

He has forced established media out of the official briefing group for refusing to use language of his choosing, and he has gutted financial support for vital news services at domestically and vital independent media internationally.

Wider Consequences

All of that has fostered an environment in which journalists are clearly more vulnerable in the US, but one in which their targeting – and indeed killing – becomes not just insignificant (“incidents occur”) but acceptable (“a lot of people disliked that person”).

It is no surprise 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 data: a persistent failure to hold those accountable for reporter murders has established a environment without consequences in which those who murder reporters are actually able to escape punishment and so persist in these actions.

Nowhere is this clearer than in Israel, which is accountable for the deaths of more than 200 media workers in the past two years.

Effect on Society

The impact on society is deep. Attacks on journalists are assaults on facts. They are undermining of reality. They are violations of our entitlement to information and on our freedom to live freely and securely.

On Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists meets for its yearly global journalism honors. The statement there is the same as my one for the president: such events may happen. But it is our duty to make sure they cease.