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“Stuff occurs.” A mere phrase. That’s all it took for Donald Trump to brush off what is arguably the most infamous journalist killing of the last decade – and in so doing sank to a fresh depth in his disregard toward the press, for journalism – and for the facts.

The Context

The US president’s dismissive attitude of the killing of well-known reporter the Washington Post columnist came during a press conference with the Saudi crown prince, MBS – a man whom the US intelligence found in a 2021 report had ordered the abduction and murder of the Washington Post columnist in 2018. (Prince Mohammed has denied involvement.)

The American spy agencies were not the only ones to conclude the murder – which took place in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and in which the 59-year-old journalist was drugged and cut apart – was approved at the highest levels. An investigation led by then UN special rapporteur, the UN investigator, reached similar conclusions.

Global Reactions

For a brief period, nations were unified in their criticism of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The United States enacted sanctions and travel restrictions in that year over the murder, although it refrained of penalizing Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the kingdom has been slowly rehabilitating itself – and the leader’s trip to the US capital seemed to be the final confirmation of that rehabilitation.

White House Remarks

Critics of the regime had strongly criticized the meeting. But what was on display at the presidential residence was more alarming than could have been anticipated. Not only did Trump fete the Saudi leader but he seemed to alter history – and then blamed the victim. Prince Mohammed, Trump asserted when asked, was unaware about the murder – in direct contradiction to what his country’s own spy agencies concluded previously. Moreover, the president said: “Many individuals didn’t like that person that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or didn’t like him, incidents occur.”

Pattern of Behavior

This marks a new and abject point for a leader who has made no attempt to hide of his disdain for the facts – or for the media. Trump has smeared reporters (he called a news network, whose journalist asked the inquiry about Khashoggi at the media event “false information”), scolded them in public (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his relationship with the convicted sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein), taken legal action against media organizations for large amounts of money in frivolous cases, and called for news outlets he disapproves of to be shut down.

He has forced veteran news services out of the White House press pool for refusing to use language of his choosing, and he has slashed funding for vital news services at home and vital independent media 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 killing – becomes not just insignificant (“things happen”) but tolerated (“a lot of people disliked that person”).

It is unsurprising that that year was the deadliest year on file for the press in the more than 30 years the press freedom organization has been documenting this data: a ongoing neglect to bring to justice those responsible for journalist killings has created a environment without consequences in which journalists’ killers are actually able to escape punishment and so continue to do so.

Nowhere is this clearer than in the Middle Eastern nation, which is responsible for the deaths of more than 200 media workers in the past two years.

Societal Impact

The effect on the public is profound. Targeting reporters 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 safely.

On Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists meets for its yearly global journalism honors. The statement at the event is the identical as my one for the president: these things may occur. But it is our responsibility to make sure they do not.