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“Stuff occurs.” Just two words. That was enough for Donald Trump to brush off what is arguably the most infamous journalist killing of the last decade – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his disregard toward journalists, for journalism – and for the truth.

The Context

The American leader’s dismissive attitude of the murder of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi came during a press conference with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the CIA found in a recent assessment had orchestrated the abduction and murder of the journalist in 2018. (The crown prince has rejected accusations.)

The US intelligence services were not the sole entities to determine the murder – which occurred in the Saudi diplomatic building in Turkey and in which the late journalist was drugged and cut apart – was approved at the top echelons. An investigation led by former UN expert, the UN investigator, reached similar conclusions.

International Response

For a brief period, nations were unified in their criticism of the kingdom’s conduct. The US 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 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 government had strongly criticized the visit. But what was evident at the White House was worse than could have been anticipated. Not only did the president honor the Saudi leader but he effectively rewrote history – and then blamed the victim. Prince Mohammed, he claimed when asked, knew nothing about the murder – in clear opposition to what his nation’s intelligence services concluded previously. Moreover, the president said: “Many individuals disliked that person that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or disapproved, incidents occur.”

Pattern of Behavior

This marks a fresh and shameful low for a leader who has made little secret of his disdain for the facts – or for the press. He has smeared reporters (he called ABC news, whose journalist asked the inquiry about Khashoggi at the Saudi press conference “false information”), berated them in open settings (he called one a “piggy” this week for asking about his connection with the convicted sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein), taken legal action against news outlets for eye-watering sums of money in frivolous cases, and called for media groups he doesn’t like to lose their licenses.

He has pressured established media out of the official briefing group for refusing to use terminology of his preference, and he has gutted financial support for vital news services at home and vital independent media internationally.

Broader Implications

All of that has fostered 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 (“incidents occur”) but acceptable (“many individuals didn’t like that person”).

It is no surprise that 2024 was the deadliest year on record for journalists in the more than 30 years the press freedom organization has been tracking this information: a persistent failure to hold those accountable for journalist killings has established a environment without consequences in which journalists’ killers are literally able to escape punishment and so continue to do so.

Nowhere is this clearer than in the Middle Eastern nation, which is accountable for the deaths of over two hundred journalists in the recent period.

Societal Impact

The impact on the public is profound. Attacks on journalists are assaults on facts. They are attacks on facts. They are violations of our entitlement to information and on our liberty to exist without fear and securely.

On Thursday, CPJ gathers for its annual International Press Freedom awards. The statement at the event is the same as my message for Trump: such events may happen. But it is our duty to make sure they cease.