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“Incidents take place.” A mere phrase. That’s all it took for the US president to effectively dismiss what is probably the most infamous journalist killing of the last decade – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his disregard toward the press, for journalism – and for the facts.

The Context

The American leader’s dismissal of the murder of well-known reporter the Washington Post columnist came during a media briefing with the Saudi leader, MBS – a man whom the US intelligence concluded in a 2021 report had ordered the kidnap and killing of the journalist in that year. (The crown prince has denied involvement.)

The American spy agencies were not the sole entities to conclude the murder – which took place in the Saudi diplomatic building in Istanbul and in which the late Khashoggi was sedated and dismembered – was signed off at the top echelons. An inquiry led by then UN special rapporteur, Agnès Callamard, reached similar conclusions.

International Response

For a brief period, nations were in agreement in their criticism of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The United States imposed sanctions and travel restrictions in 2021 over the killing, although it refrained of penalizing the crown prince himself. Since then, the nation has been gradually restoring itself – and the leader’s trip to the US capital seemed to be the final confirmation of that redemption.

White House Remarks

Opponents of the government had strongly criticized the visit. 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 the facts – and then pointed fingers at the deceased. Prince Mohammed, he claimed when asked, was unaware about the killing – in direct contradiction to what his country’s own intelligence services concluded four years ago. Moreover, Trump said: “A lot of people didn’t like that person that you’re talking about, whether you like him or didn’t like him, incidents occur.”

Pattern of Behavior

This represents a fresh and shameful low for a leader who has made little secret of his contempt for the truth – or for the press. He has smeared journalists (he called ABC news, 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 connection with the convicted sex offender financier the convicted criminal), sued news outlets for eye-watering sums of money in frivolous cases, and called for news outlets he disapproves of to lose their licenses.

He has forced veteran news services out of the White House press pool for declining to use terminology of his preference, and he has slashed financial support for vital news services at home and crucial free press internationally.

Broader Implications

All of that has fostered an environment in which journalists are clearly more vulnerable in the United States, but one in which their targeting – and indeed murder – becomes not just insignificant (“things happen”) but acceptable (“many individuals disliked that gentleman”).

It is unsurprising that 2024 was the deadliest year on file for the press in the more than 30 years the press freedom organization has been tracking this data: a ongoing neglect to hold those accountable for journalist killings has created a culture of impunity in which journalists’ killers are actually able to escape punishment 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.

Effect on Society

The impact on society is profound. Targeting reporters 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.

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