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“Stuff occurs.” 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 disregard toward journalists, for the media – and for the facts.

The Context

The American leader’s dismissal of the killing of well-known reporter Jamal Khashoggi came during a press conference with the Saudi leader, MBS – a man whom the CIA concluded in a 2021 report had ordered the abduction and murder of the journalist in that year. (The crown prince has denied involvement.)

The American spy agencies were not the sole entities to conclude the murder – which took place in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and in which the late journalist was sedated and dismembered – was signed off at the top echelons. An investigation led by former UN expert, Agnès Callamard, reached comparable findings.

International Response

For a brief period, governments were unified in their condemnation of the kingdom’s conduct. The US enacted sanctions and travel restrictions in 2021 over the killing, although it refrained of penalizing Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the kingdom has been slowly rehabilitating itself – and the crown prince’s visit to Washington seemed to be the ultimate sign of that rehabilitation.

White House Remarks

Opponents of the government had roundly condemned the visit. But what was on display at the presidential residence was worse than could have been imagined. Not only did the president honor Prince Mohammed but he seemed to alter the facts – and then blamed the victim. Prince Mohammed, Trump asserted when asked, was unaware about the murder – in direct contradiction to what his nation’s spy agencies determined previously. Moreover, Trump said: “Many individuals disliked that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen.”

Pattern of Behavior

This marks a new and abject low for a leader who has made little secret of his disdain for the facts – or for the media. Trump has smeared journalists (he called a news network, whose reporter asked the question about Khashoggi at the media event “false information”), berated them in public (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his connection with the convicted sex offender financier the convicted criminal), sued media organizations for eye-watering sums of money in frivolous cases, and called for media groups he doesn’t like to be shut down.

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

Wider Consequences

All of that has fostered an environment in which reporters are clearly more vulnerable in the United States, but one in which their victimization – and indeed murder – becomes not just insignificant (“incidents occur”) but tolerated (“many individuals didn’t like that person”).

It is no surprise that 2024 was the most lethal year on record for the press in the more than 30 years the press freedom organization has been tracking this data: a ongoing neglect to hold those responsible for reporter murders has established a environment without consequences in which journalists’ killers are literally able to get away with murder and so continue to do so.

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

Effect on Society

The impact on the public is profound. Targeting reporters are assaults on facts. They are attacks on facts. They are attacks on our rights to know and on our freedom to exist without fear and securely.

This week, CPJ gathers for its annual International Press Freedom awards. The statement there is the same as my message for the president: such events may happen. But it is our responsibility to make sure they do not.