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“Incidents take place.” A mere phrase. That was enough for the US president to brush off what is arguably the most notorious murder of a reporter of the past ten years – and in so doing sank to a fresh depth in his contempt for journalists, for journalism – and for the facts.

Background Details

The US president’s dismissive attitude of the killing of well-known reporter Jamal Khashoggi came during a media briefing with the Saudi leader, MBS – a man whom the US intelligence concluded in a 2021 report had orchestrated the abduction and murder of the Washington Post columnist in 2018. (The crown prince has denied involvement.)

The American spy agencies were not the only ones to determine the homicide – which took place in the Saudi diplomatic building in Turkey and in which the 59-year-old Khashoggi was sedated and dismembered – was signed off at the top echelons. An inquiry led by former UN expert, the UN investigator, reached comparable findings.

Global Reactions

For a short time, nations were in agreement in their criticism of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The US imposed sanctions and visa bans in 2021 over the murder, although it stopped short 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 final confirmation of that rehabilitation.

Presidential Comments

Critics of the government had strongly criticized the visit. But what was evident at the White House was worse than could have been imagined. Not only did Trump fete the Saudi leader but he seemed to alter history – and then pointed fingers at the victim. Prince Mohammed, Trump claimed when asked, knew nothing about the killing – in direct contradiction to what his country’s own intelligence services determined four years ago. Moreover, Trump said: “Many individuals disliked that person that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or disapproved, incidents occur.”

Established Conduct

This represents a new and abject low for a leader who has made little secret of his disdain for the facts – or for the press. He has smeared journalists (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 “piggy” this week for asking about his relationship with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein), taken legal action against media organizations for eye-watering sums of money in vexatious law suits, and called for news outlets he disapproves of to be shut down.

He has pressured established media out of the official briefing group for declining to use terminology of his preference, and he has slashed funding for vital news services at domestically and vital independent media internationally.

Broader Implications

All of that has created an environment in which journalists are manifestly less safe in the United States, but one in which their targeting – and indeed murder – becomes not just insignificant (“things happen”) but tolerated (“many individuals didn’t like that person”).

It is unsurprising that that year was the deadliest year on record for the press in the more than 30 years the press freedom organization has been documenting this information: a ongoing neglect to bring to justice those responsible for journalist killings has created a culture of impunity in which those who murder reporters are literally able to escape punishment and so persist in these actions.

Nowhere is this more evident than in Israel, which is responsible for the deaths of over two hundred journalists in the past two years.

Societal Impact

The impact on society is deep. Targeting reporters are attacks on the truth. They are attacks on facts. They are violations of our rights to know and on our freedom to live freely and securely.

This week, CPJ meets for its yearly global journalism honors. My message at the event is the same as my message for the president: such events may occur. But it is our responsibility to make sure they cease.