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“Incidents take place.” A mere phrase. That’s all it took for Donald Trump to brush off what is probably the most infamous murder of a reporter of the past ten years – 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 dismissive attitude of the murder of prominent journalist the Washington Post columnist came during a media briefing with the Saudi leader, MBS – a man whom the US intelligence concluded in a recent assessment had ordered the kidnap and killing of the journalist in 2018. (Prince Mohammed has denied involvement.)

The US intelligence services were not the sole entities to determine the homicide – which took place in the Saudi consulate in Turkey and in which the late journalist was sedated and cut apart – was approved at the highest levels. An inquiry led by former UN expert, the UN investigator, reached similar conclusions.

Global Reactions

For a short time, nations were in agreement in their criticism of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The US enacted sanctions and visa bans 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 crown prince’s visit to Washington seemed to be the ultimate sign of that rehabilitation.

White House Remarks

Critics of the government had roundly condemned the visit. But what was evident at the presidential residence was worse than could have been imagined. Not only did Trump fete the Saudi leader but he seemed to alter the facts – and then blamed the victim. The crown prince, Trump claimed when asked, knew nothing about the murder – in direct contradiction to what his nation’s spy agencies determined previously. Moreover, the president said: “Many individuals disliked that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you like him or didn’t like him, incidents occur.”

Established Conduct

This marks a new and abject low for a leader who has made no attempt to hide of his contempt for the facts – or for the press. Trump has smeared journalists (he called a news network, whose journalist asked the inquiry about Khashoggi at the Saudi press conference “false information”), scolded them in public (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his relationship with the disgraced financier the convicted criminal), sued media organizations for large amounts of money in frivolous cases, and called for news outlets he doesn’t like to lose their licenses.

He has forced veteran news services out of the White House press pool for refusing to use terminology of his choosing, and he has gutted funding for essential public media at home and crucial free press abroad.

Broader Implications

All of that has fostered an atmosphere in which journalists are manifestly less safe in the US, but one in which their victimization – and indeed killing – becomes not just unimportant (“things happen”) but acceptable (“many individuals disliked that gentleman”).

It is unsurprising that that year was the deadliest year on record for journalists in the more than 30 years the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has been documenting this information: a persistent failure to hold those responsible for reporter murders has established a culture of impunity in which journalists’ killers are actually able to escape punishment and so persist in these actions.

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

Societal Impact

The effect on society is profound. Attacks on journalists are attacks on the truth. They are undermining of reality. They are attacks on our entitlement to information and on our freedom to exist without fear and securely.

This week, CPJ gathers for its yearly International Press Freedom awards. The statement at the event is the identical as my one for Trump: such events may occur. But it is our responsibility to make sure they cease.