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“Stuff occurs.” Just two words. That was enough for the US president to effectively dismiss what is arguably the most infamous journalist killing of the last decade – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his disregard toward the press, for the media – and for the facts.

The Context

The American leader’s dismissal of the killing of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi came during a media briefing with the Saudi leader, MBS – a man whom the CIA concluded in a 2021 report had ordered the abduction and murder of the Washington Post columnist in that year. (Prince Mohammed has denied involvement.)

The American spy agencies were not the sole entities to determine the homicide – which took place in the Saudi diplomatic building in Istanbul and in which the 59-year-old Khashoggi was sedated and dismembered – was approved at the top echelons. An inquiry led by then UN special rapporteur, Agnès Callamard, reached similar conclusions.

Global Reactions

For a short time, governments were unified in their condemnation of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The United States imposed sanctions and travel restrictions in 2021 over the killing, although it refrained of sanctioning the crown prince himself. Since then, the nation has been gradually restoring itself – and the leader’s trip to Washington seemed to be the ultimate sign of that redemption.

Presidential Comments

Opponents of the government had strongly criticized 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 the facts – and then blamed the deceased. The crown prince, Trump asserted when asked, knew nothing about the murder – in direct contradiction to what his nation’s spy agencies determined previously. Moreover, the president said: “A lot of people didn’t like that person that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or didn’t like him, things happen.”

Established Conduct

This represents a fresh and shameful point for a leader who has made little secret of his disdain for the facts – or for the press. Trump has smeared reporters (he called ABC news, whose journalist asked the question about the journalist at the Saudi press conference “fake news”), scolded them in public (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his connection with the disgraced financier the convicted criminal), sued news outlets for large amounts of money in frivolous cases, and called for media groups he disapproves of to lose their licenses.

He has pressured veteran news services out of the White House press pool for refusing to use terminology of his preference, and he has gutted funding for essential public media at domestically and crucial free press internationally.

Wider Consequences

All of that has fostered an atmosphere in which reporters are manifestly less safe in the United States, but one in which their targeting – and indeed killing – becomes not just insignificant (“incidents occur”) but acceptable (“a lot of people disliked that gentleman”).

It is unsurprising that 2024 was the most lethal year on record for the press in the over three decades the press freedom organization has been tracking this information: a ongoing neglect to bring to justice those accountable for journalist killings has created a environment without consequences in which journalists’ killers are literally able to escape punishment and so persist in these actions.

In no place is this more evident than in Israel, which is responsible for the deaths of more than 200 media workers in the recent period.

Societal Impact

The effect on the public is deep. Targeting reporters are attacks on the truth. They are attacks on facts. They are violations of our entitlement to information and on our liberty to live freely and safely.

This week, the Committee to Protect Journalists gathers for its annual global journalism honors. My message there is the same as my message for Trump: such events may occur. But it is our responsibility to make sure they do not.